Someone Like You
by Ggirl
Summary: [L/L] When Luke’s HS buddy, Craig, comes back to Stars Hollow, he and Lorelai hit it off. Luke feels threatened by Craig's presence in Lorelai's life. Craig seems to be perfect for Lorelai.. but why does she keep thinking about Luke?*COMPLETE*
1. Homecoming

Author: Ggirl Pairing: Lorelai/Craig, Lorelai/Luke, a little R/J Spoilers: Well, sorta Disclaimer: I don't own anything! (damnit) A/N: Okay, to catch you up, this takes place 2 years from where the show is right now. So, Rory's at her 2nd year at Yale, Jess is at the University of Hartford, etc, etc. The time is around the middle of April. Those two will be home later.. but for now, it's Luke and Lorelai and blah blah.. neither are dating and everything's pretty much the same (for now!) *********************************** 10:34 AM, Friday  
Luke's Diner "Good morning, sunshine!" Luke looked up to see Lorelai waltz into the diner. He grunted his acknowledgement of her presence and went to go get the coffee pot. She plopped down onto a stool at the counter and motioned for him to hurry over with the coffee. "Okay, so I need like five cups this morning, so let's make the lecture fast, 'kay?" Lorelai quipped. Luke rolled his eyes but poured her a cup. "Thanks," She murmured as she brought the mug to her lips. "Whoa, slow down there, Hoover," Luke said and gently brought the cup down. "I have a wedding to deal with, Michel already called my house complaining about the geese, and Sookie says she burned the soufflé. By now, the inn's probably gone.. " Lorelai said rapidly. "I need another cup." Luke sighed. "Okay, but just because you're stressed out." Lorelai looked at him gratefully as he poured. "You're an angel." Luke snorted. Just then, the diner door opened and in stepped a tall, dark haired man. "My God, look what the wind brought in," Lorelai whispered to Luke. "Huh? What?" Luke looked up from arranging the menus. He saw Lorelai was practically drooling. "I just wiped the counter." "I didn't know Brad and Jennifer finally broke up.. The gods have answered my prayers..," Lorelai whispered. "Luke!" The man walked over to the counter. "Hey! What's up man?" Luke looked up. "Craig?" "Luke?" "Wow, Craig, what are you doing here?" "A hospital in Hartford needed a specialist in neurology, so here I am," Craig said, smiling brightly. "I thought I'd drop by Stars Hollow while I was in the area." "Well, it's good to see you," Luke said and smiled back. Lorelai looked back and forth at the two men. "Man, it's great to see you!" Craig smiled and punched Luke in the shoulder. "How's it going??" Luke grinned. "Good, Craig." Craig smiled. "That's Dr. Craig to you now, man." "So they let you into medical school, huh," Luke said. "Bribed them," Craig whispered loudly. "I assumed," Luke said smirking. "It was one of those med schools where the doctors greet you with a 'Hi Everyone!' in a weird accent," Craig joked. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Oh, sorry," Luke said, turning his attention to Lorelai. "This is my.. Uh... [A/N: woman he desperately loves!!] This is Lorelai." Lorelai smiled and shook Craig's out-stretched hand. "Nice to meet you." "This is Craig, my best friend from high school," Luke said watching as the two looked at each other. "Uh.. Hi," Craig managed to say. "Have we.. met before?" "No," Lorelai whispered. "I don't think so..." She felt incredibly attracted to him. He was definitely her 'type'. The brown corduroy jacket, the worn in jeans, concert t-shirt, and the disheveled hair. Craig looked like he walked off the cover of a J. Crew catalog. Luke looked back and forth between the pair. He sensed a chemistry. A rush of jealousy passed through him as he watched the most important woman in his life drool over his best friend. "Yeah, so uh.. Don't you have work to go to?" Luke interrupted the silence, looking pointedly at Lorelai. "Oh! Right, gotta run, you'll probably see me at lunch," She said to Luke, rushing to pick up her bag and jacket. "I'll be the one having spasms in the corner." "Same as always," Luke replied and waved her off. "See you later." Lorelai smiled at Craig. "Nice meeting you, Craig." Craig nodded and smiled. "Bye, Lorelai." "Bye!" As the diner door jingled shut, Craig turned back to Luke. "Wow, she's... gorgeous." Luke grunted and poured Craig a cup of coffee. "It's just Lorelai. We're friends." He shrugged. 'Good job trying to convince yourself.' Craig said taking a gulp of his coffee. "She's gorgeous and wow, I just felt like... I don't know... we just looked at each other and.. I don't know, I just like felt something there." Luke shrugged. He tried to feign indifference, but he felt rather sick in the pit of his stomach. Craig was still rambling. "Anyways, it's great to be back. Little Star's Hollow," Craig said and smiled. Craig lowered his voice. "Taylor still around?" "Yeah," Luke responded, relieved that Craig had dropped the topic of Lorelai. Why did he feel so jealous anyways? "Kirk?" "Yup." "Patty?" "Better hide," Luke answered as he jerked his head towards one of the table. "That's her?!" Craig looked nervous and wrapped his jacket around him tightly. "She hasn't changed at all." "Yeah, she still eats men." Patty looked inquisitively at the two of them. "Craig Diodorous?" She asked. "Oh my God," Craig looked at Luke with pleading eyes. "Help me," he whimpered. Patty walked over to the counter. "Craig! Honey buns!" Craig forced a smile. "Hi, Patty." "Where have you been, darling?" She said and wrapped him in a hug. "OOo, you're just as gorgeous as ever." "Heh," Craig said nervously. "Babette!" Patty called to the woman sitting at the table with her. "Look who it is!" "Craig Diodorous!" Babette walked over to the counter and gave the startled man a hug. "Hi?" Craig looked confused. "Oops, sorry, honey," Patty said, realizing her mistake. "Babette moved here after you left." Luke looked at Babette. "You just hugged him but you don't know him?" Babette nodded and giggled. "But look how cute he is!" Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go in the back." 'Don't leave me!' A panicked Craig mouthed to Luke. Luke gave him a friendly wave and disappeared into the kitchen. ************************************** 1:23 PM, Friday  
Luke's Diner "Luke!!!!" Lorelai ran to the man standing at the counter. His back was to her and he was madly scribbling something down on a piece of paper. "Okay," He said into the phone. "Thanks, Fran. Yeah, I'll probably be back in the office on Monday." "I... need..... coffee... now...," Lorelai panted and sat down. "Lots.. of.. coffee." The man continued to write. "LUKEY!" He turned around and looked at her. "Uh.. Hi." Craig looked at her quizzically. "Sorry, Luke's not here right now." Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oops, sorry. Hi, Craig.." The two stood looking at each other. Babette and Patty looked at the couple from across the room and smiled. "Look's like love is in the air." Just then, Luke entered the diner. "Hey, Craig, I... Oh, Lorelai, hi." "This could get interesting," Patty whispered to Babette. ************************************** 2:35 PM, Friday  
Luke's Diner "Oh, oh! And did you ever see that episode where her mother is all like..," Lorelai started. "Oh, yeah, that was an awesome episode!" "And then Sydney all like..." "Yeah! And then that Victor Garber dude's like.." "AHh! I love that part!" Lorelai cried out and clapped her hands. "Wow, and to think, all this time, I thought I was the biggest Alias fan ever!" Craig sat back and folded his arms. "We are the two biggest Alias fans ever." "Uh.. We're probably the only Alias fans. That show is so confusing," Lorelai scrunched her nose. "Great show, if you want to get that dizzying feeling without actually getting drunk," Lorelai said pointedly. Craig laughed. "But why would you want to do that?" "Good point, my friend," Lorelai said nodding. "Getting drunk is the best part of the dizzying." From the counter, Luke frowned as he watched his two best friends talking about.. Actually, he had no idea what they were talking about. "Ahem," Luke cleared his throat as he approached the table. "Huh, hey, Luke," Lorelai managed to say in between her fits of laughter. "You wanna hear a joke?" Craig smiled. "Craig just told it to me.. hehehe." Lorelai beamed up at Craig. "So, this guy goes out and gets really drunk.." "Uh.. No thanks," Luke interrupted. "Do you want coffee?" "Mean," Lorelai pouted. "Do I ever turn down coffee?" Luke rolled his eyes and poured her a cup. "Thanks," Lorelai said distractedly as she turned back to Craig. "Do you like Sponge Bob Square Pants??" "Sponge Bob? Oh my God, I'm wearing Sponge Bob boxers!" "Wow, too much information, but I believe the boxers are proof of your devotion!" Lorelai giggled. Luke felt awkward standing there. Sighing, he went up to the counter. They didn't even notice. "Oh my God, It's like 3 pm. I have to get back to the inn! I almost totally forgot," Lorelai said, fumbling with her bag. "I'll talk to you later, Craig." She smiled at Craig and breezed out the door. Smiling, Craig walked up to the counter where Luke was standing. "She's.. amazing. She likes everything I likes. Sponge Bob, XTC, Alias.. I mean, Wow," Craig said, shaking his head. "Who knew?" Luke shrugged. "Hey, you okay, man?" Craig asked, concerned. "You're pretty quiet." Luke frowned. "I'm good." "So..," Craig said, shuffling his feet. "I was.. I wanted to.." "Spit it out, Craig." "I wanted to ask her out to dinner. You two aren't..," Craig started. "We're not going out," Luke replied and instantly regretted it. Craig and Lorelai were obviously hitting it off and.. he didn't want to see the two together. The scene that had just occurred before him had brought him thisclose to throwing up all over the counter. Lorelai touching Craig's arm.. Lorelai cracking up over some joke Craig had told her... Luke shook the thoughts out of his head. 'Craig's your best friend, what are you thinking?' "Oh, whew, great," Craig smiled. "You think she likes donuts? 'Cause I found this Krispy Kreme shop in Hartford as I was driving down here." Luke sighed. "Yeah, she likes donuts." 'They're like two peas in a pod.' "I'll take her to Chinese first and then we could go there for dessert," Craig said, thoughtfully. He stood up and grabbed his jacket. "Anyways, I need to find a place to stay for two nights. Know a place?" There was only one place in town: the Independence Inn. "Uh.. Why don't you stay with me?" Luke said. "Really? I thought you had a nephew or something?" "Oh, Jess? He's at college now," Luke replied. "Oooh, okay! Thanks, man," Craig smiled. "I'll go get my stuff from my car." Luke nodded and Craig left the diner. 'This is going to be a long weekend.' ************************************** Hey! So this is my second fanfic hehe i am a hardcore javajunkie.. so more L/L or L/Craig action coming.. hope u like it so far! Please review =) thanx for reading.. This is just the beginning so it's not that interesting yet.. but i've started on many of hte later chapters.. and it gets juicer hehehe -Ggirl 


	2. Three Silly Willies

3:13 PM, Friday  
Independence Inn "And he likes everything I like! We had this long, long conversation about Alias!" Lorelai said giddily. Smiling, Sookie continued to whip some concoction in a metal bowl. "Honey, there is an issue that is far more important here.. Is he cute?" Sookie giggled. "Adorable! He looks like a J. Crew model, and he dresses like one too," Lorelai said and grabbed a freshly baked cookie from a sheet pan that one of the cooks had just taken out of the oven. He frowned at her. "MMmmm.." Sookie looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Dirty!" Lorelai commented. "The cookie, not him..." Sookie smiled slyly. "Sounds like a catch." "He is, he is!" Lorelai said and grabbed another cookie when the cook wasn't watching. "Do you think I should ask him out? Or should I wait for him to ask me out?" Sookie stopped whipping and look at her thoughtfully. "Hm.. Maybe you should ask him out? Because, you never know what could happen." "That is true," Lorelai said, masticating on the thought.. and the cookie. "Like what if it turns out that he's incredibly boring or he's Michel's long lost brother?.. I don't know, some weird thing like that.. then at least, you'll have no one to blame but yourself!" "Comforting." Lorelai made a face. "You're not helping here." Sookie giggled. "I'm just kidding. He sounds like a great guy. Plus he was flirting with you. That's gotta mean something." She hopped down from the counter and brushed off her skirt. "What if he has girlfriend and he was just talking with me because he was... bored?" Lorelai bit her lip. "Honey, it doesn't hurt to try," Sookie said. "Oh, Geroge, get me the sugar?" Sookie motioned for one of the cooks to get her a bag of sugar. "He wouldn't flirt so blatantly with me if he had a girlfriend," Lorelai answered her own question. "He doesn't seem like that type." "And he's cute." "Very. I think I will ask him out," Lorelai said nodding. "Thanks, Sookie!" Lorelai pranced out of the kitchen. ******************************* 7:34 PM, Friday  
Luke's Diner Lorelai walked into the bustling diner and sat down at her usual table. Luke was running from place to place and didn't notice her walk in. "Hey, diner man!" Luke looked up at her and frowned. "Be there in a minute." Lorelai shrugged and got up from the table. She walked behind the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. "Hey, hey, how many times did I tell you to not go behind the counter?" Luke scolded. Lorelai smiled widely. "Once?" She asked hopefully. "More like fifty one," Luke grumbled. "Okay, just this once because I'm really busy." "Do you need help?" Lorelai set her cup down on the counter. "Uh.. No, it's okay," Luke grabbed three plates of hamburgers. "I think you need help," Lorelai called after him. "I think you do too," Luke called back and set the plates of burgers in front of some customers. "In fact, I know some really good psychologists." "HA!" Lorelai called back and picked up some menus for the customers that had just walked in. "Or, heck, Craig's a neurologist, maybe he could figure out what's wrong with you," Luke regretted saying this when he saw the dreamy look on Lorelai's face. She was jolted out of her reverie when the bell jingled to acknowledge the presence of new customers. "Hi!" She smiled at them and handed out the menus. "You don't have to do this," Luke whispered to her as she took down their orders. "I don't mind," Lorelai smiled. "Besides, I get to use all that cool diner jargon." Luke snorted. "Hey, Casear! Three Silly Willies in a blanket with cracker jacks and make it fast!" Lorelai yelled, as the startled customers looked on. "Hey, I made a diner rhyme," Lorelai said smiling proudly at Luke. "Jacks and fast!" He just rolled his eyes. "That doesn't really rhyme," Luke said. Lorelai pouted. "Does too." Casear poked his head into the room from the kitchen. He took one look at Lorelai holding a notepad and said, "God, you're back. No wonder I couldn't make out that order." Lorelai beamed at him. "Back in the kitchen, slave." ******************************* 10:56 PM, Friday  
Luke's Diner "Ughh... my arms," Lorelai groaned and waved her arms up and down. Luke smiled weakly at her as they sat sprawled out in one of the booths. "Thanks for tonight." He tried not to watch her unbuttoning the top button of her collared shirt. "Well," Lorelai said slyly. "I hope we do it again." She smiled seductively at him. Luke rolled his eyes and coughed. "Thanks for helping out at the diner tonight. I really appreciate it." Lorelai smiled back. "No prob, Bob." She cleared her throat. "Uhh.. So where's Craig?" "At the hospital...," Luke closed his eyes and leaned his head back. He tried to change the subject. "God, I'm tired." Lorelai put her head down on the table. "Me too." She lifted her head up. "When do you think he's gonna be back?" "I don't know," Luke mumbled, half groaning. 'Enough about Craig already... This is probably the one time I wish she _would_ talk about herself or anything else...' Lorelai sighed and got up. She stretched. "Going home?" Luke asked and opened his eyes. "Yeah, I should go," Lorelai said and grabbed her bag and jacket. "I'll.. Uh.. Walk you home," Luke said and got up as well. "You don't have to," Lorelai replied. "Nah, it's dark out," Luke said. Lorelai snorted. "Right, and I might get kidnapped.. here in Star's Hollow, the equivalent of Detriot's ghettos." "Eh.. You know what I mean," Luke said nonchalantly and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Actually, I don't," Lorelai replied. 'I was hoping to wait for Craig...' "Come on," Luke said and pulled her towards the door. Lorelai shrugged. 'Guess I'll ask him tomorrow.' They started to walk towards her house. "So.. When's Craig going home?" Lorelai asked nonchalantly. 'Craig again.' "Umm.. I think tomorrow night? Or maybe Sunday night?" Luke replied. "He asked if he could stay 2 nights, but he might change it because he needs to get back to his office." "Does he live near here?" "New York." "Oh, I see," Lorelai replied. An uncomfortable silence befell them as they walked. "So.. how's life going?" "Good," Luke replied and looked up at her. 'God, she looks beautiful.' Lorelai swung her bag around and around. "I thought your arms hurt," Luke commented, smiling. Lorelai smiled back. "If you carry a bag, it calls for swinging, whether your arms hurt or not. Swinging is fun!" To emphasize her point, she swung her arms in a big circle. Luke snorted. "Here, try it!" Lorelai grabbed his hand and tried to make him grab her little black bag. Luke gave her a look. "I'm not swinging your bag." "Swing it! It's fun! Really!" Luke rolled his eyes and took the bag. "Now swing it around like this," Lorelai instructed. "Like you're doing arm circles." "I can't believe I'm doing this," Luke mumbled and awkwardly swung. "Fun, right?" "Like watching Nsync on television," Luke replied sarcastically. "You said Nsync!" "So what?" Luke asked. "You said Nsync! Nsync _is_ fun, by the way. To make fun of..their hair, their clothes.. It's like a mockery fest. Therefore, it's almost like you said the f-word," Lorelai replied as they walked up the sidewalk to her house. Luke snorted. "Fine, I take it back. It's as fun as dinners at the Gilmore house on Friday nights." "Oooh, that's a good one. That's definitely not fun," Lorelai said sternly. "Well, here we are." She put out her hand for her bag. "You know, I must say, this bag looked really good with your outfit. It adds a quaint touch to the flannel. Maybe you should keep it." Luke gave her a look and handed her the bag. Lorelai just smiled and took it from him. "Actually, I had no intention of giving it to you." "I'm crestfallen." "And, I made you swing because my arms were tired and I didn't want to carry the bag." "You are shameless." "I know," Lorelai smiled and took her keys out of her bag. She opened the front door. "See you tomorrow?" She asked as she stepped into her house. "Yeah," Luke replied. "I'll be the one with the coffee." "G'night, Lukey," Lorelai said and closed the door. ******************************* 11:25 AM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner Lorelai stumbled into the diner, rubbing her eyes. She plopped down on a stool at the counter and put her head down on the counter. Luke stopped in front of her and sighed. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," Lorelai mumbled. "Just really tired." "You didn't go to sleep after I walked you home?" "There was a Munsters marathon on TVLand." Luke hid a smile. "I see." Lorelai lifted her head. "Coffee?" "How about tea for a change?" "Oh, and Brad Pitt is no longer the sexist mofo on this planet," Lorelai said sarcastically. "Coffee please." "Mofo?" "Coffee please," Lorelai murmured and put her hand out. Luke gave her a crooked smile. He gave in because he knew that the subject of their conversation would not change until she got her coffee. "You're going to die early." "Thanks for the note, Father Time, but I'm going to die without coffee anyways." Craig came stumbling down the stairs. "God, I need like 14 cups of coffee right now," He said yawning. Lorelai perked up. "Hey..." Craig rubbed his eyes and sat down next to her. "Hi, nice pajamas." Lorelai looked down at her hyena pajama bottoms. "Thanks," She replied and smiled at his tousled cuteness. "Long night at the hospital?" "Nope," Craig said and stretched. "Munsters marathon on TVLand." Luke looked at him. "Is that what you were watching? I thought I heard the television on." Lorelai looked at Craig with an opened mouth expression. "Me too! I was watching the Munsters!" "Really?" Craig asked, just as surprised as she was. "Did you see the one where Grandpa makes that pill that makes instant gasoline?" "Yeah! And then Mr. Prince comes and kisses Marilyn?" Lorelai looked dazed. "Wow, that is so strange. You're like me, in a male form." Craig was amused. "But without the hyenas. It is a strange, strange world." Luke looked from Lorelai to Craig. "Uh... you guys still want that coffee?" "Yes!" They said simultaneously. They looked at each and laughed. Luke turned his back on them and poured two cups of coffee as they excitedly talked about last night's Munsters marathon. "I had a crush on Marilyn when I was younger," Craig admitted to Lorelai. "Oh yeah, the 'ugly duckling' of the family," Lorelai replied. She rolled her eyes. "That part really bothered me, how the writers kept pretending that Marilyn was ugly. She was like a Marilyn Monroe lookalike." Luke turned around to give them their mugs. He sighed as he watched them rambling about the Munsters. "Well, I should go home and change," Lorelai announced and started to get up. Craig slipped off the stool. "I'll walk you home." 'Here's my chance.' "Sounds good," Lorelai smiled. "Bye, Luke," Lorelai said and waved. Luke watched enviously as the two stepped out. He knew Craig was going to ask her out. Outside, Lorelai wrapped her jacket closer around her. "It's pretty chilly," Craig said, trying to make small talk. "HMmmmm," Lorelai replied and nodded. "Hey, Craig, I was..." "Lorelai, I was wondering..," Craig said at the same time. They smiled at each other. "You first," Lorelai said. "Okay, um.. I was wondering, if you were free next Friday night?" Craig said smiling slightly. Lorelai grinned. "I was just going to ask you that." Craig laughed. "I take that as a yes?" "Yes," Lorelai replied and walked up the porch steps to her her house. "Sounds great." "Let me give you my number," Craig said, rummaging around in his pockets. "Uh.." "Do you want to come in for a second?" Lorelai asked from the open door. "Sure," Craig answered and hopped up the stairs after her. "Sorry about the mess," Lorelai called over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen. "Do you want something to drink?" "Uhh, no thanks," Craig said and walked into the living room. He surveyed the clutter on top of the coffee table. "Wow, that's a lot of videos." Lorelai came back and smiled. "I'm a bit of a video-freak." "Me too," Craig said nodding. "DVD-freak." He smiled at her. "Sit down," Lorelai said and plopped down on the sofa. He sat down on top of a stuffed animal. "Oops, sorry." "Hey, mister, don't say sorry to me. But I think you should apologize to Mr. Fuggernuts here, 'cause you just squished his face." "Fuggernuts?" "Yes, that's his name." "That's.." "A lovely name, yes, I agree," Lorelai said and giggled. "I named him myself." She pulled the teddy bear from under Craig's butt and threw it over her shoulder. "Where were we?" "I was going to write down my phone number," Craig replied. "So, I sit on his face and get yelled at? Then you throw him over your shoulder?" Lorelai giggled. "I am the man of the house. I rule this couch and..." "Says the woman with the hyenas on her pants," Craig smiled and pointed at her pajama bottoms. Lorelai pouted. She stuck her hand under the couch cushion and pulled out a pen. "Ah-ha! I knew I lost my Scooby-doo pen last week." She handed the pen and a piece of paper to Craig. "Here you go!" He hastily wrote down his number and gave the paper back to Lorelai. "Written like a true doctor," Lorelai said, peering at the paper. "I can't read it." Craig laughed and took the paper from her. "212-445-9023." Lorelai jotted it down on her hand. "This way I won't lose it," She said to Craig's unasked question. He nodded knowingly and showed her his hand. There was a phone number written on it. "My office number. I keep forgetting it," He said sheepishly. "Want to add yours?" Lorelai smiled slowly and wrote down her number on his thumb. "There you go." "Thanks," He said laughing. He started to get up. "Well, I should go." "Yeah," Lorelai said and got up from the sofa. "So I'll call you." "Yup," He replied, smiling. "I go back to New York tonight, so I guess.. One of us will call the other." "Okay," Lorelai replied. 'God, he's so cute,' She thought as he fidgeted. "Great, so I'll talk to you later," Craig said and started towards the door. "Bye," Lorelai said and closed the door behind him. She squealed and jumped up and down. "I have a date!" ******************************* Aww thanx for the reviews~ I know these chapters aren't _that_ exciting.. I'm trying to set the tone, introduce the characters, etc.. but soon it will get fun and exciting! Whee -Ggirl 


	3. Me jealous?

8:26 PM, Tuesday  
Gilmore House "Hey, it's Lorelai.. Leave a message if you are Brad Pitt! If you're not.. Then don't expect a call back.. Unless it's you, Mom. ((sigh)) Or Rory! Or.. never mind." BEEP. "Hi, Lorelai, it's Craig. I'm sorry I didn't call earlier. There was just a lot going on at the hospital and I didn't get a chance to call you. I guess you were busy too..." Blowing on her nails, Lorelai jumped up from the sofa and grabbed the phone. "Hello?" She asked, waving her left arm around to dry her nails. "Oh, hi. How's it going?" "Good, great.. Now that you called," Lorelai said flirtatiously. Craig laughed. "Me too. I mean, now that I called." ".. yourself?" "Uhh..," Craig said. "I'm getting confused.. What I meant was, I'm doing great now that I'm talking to you." "Awww.. Aren't you sweet?" "Sweet as candy," Craig joked. "Scary, scary reference.. although I must say I appreciate your knowledge of pop culture," Lorelai said, thinking of Luke's complete ignorance of the pop scene. "So, what's up?" "Not much, just sitting here.. uh.. wondering if you were still free Friday." "Oh yeah, I'm still free," Lorelai replied nonchalantly, pretending as if she hadn't been waiting for him to call the entire weekend. "So, we're still on for Friday?" "Yup," Lorelai said. "Should I come down to New York?" "Nah, I'll come up to Star's Hollow," Craig replied. "Oh, great! Although, I don't know if I want to have our first date at Al's Pancake World," Lorelai said. "First date? Does that mean there will be a second?" Lorelai smiled. "We'll have to see, Mister. I'll give you a test and according to the results, I will conclude on whether date number two is a possiblity or not." "Is there any way to study for this test?" Craig asked. "Hm.. better read the newest issue of Seventeen because that's where this test is coming out of," Lorelai said and grabbed the issue off the table. "What kind of boys do I like?" She read off the cover. "That's this month's quiz." "Oh, goody," Craig said sarcastically. "I like un-stinky boys. Unlike, Al who stinks. It's not Al's food that stinks, it's Al himself," Craig groaned. "My god, I say that all the time!" Craig laughed. "You and I are two peas in a pod." "I'm like you with long hair and boobs," Lorelai said. "And the answers to this quiz." 'Wow, how alike are we?' "Suddenly have a scary image in my head," Craig said frowning. Lorelai laughed. "It's not me, is it?" Craig chuckled. "Nah, then it wouldn't be scary." Lorelai giggled. "So, I'll see you Friday then." "Yeah, does 7 pm sound okay to you? We could go into Hartford." "Sounds great." 'Hartford would be great because our other option for our first date would be Luke's.. and that would just be plain weird,' Lorelai thought. "So, I'll pick you up at 7 pm." "Great... by the way, if you were wondering why I didn't call you.. I accidentally washed my hand," Lorelai said guiltily. Craig laughed. "I did too. I had to ask Luke for your number." "Ahhhh," Lorelai said. 'How does Luke have my number?' She couldn't remember ever giving it to him. "Well, see you then," Craig said. "Bye, Lorelai," Lorelai joked. "Bye, Craig." Lorelai giggled and hung up the phone. She was really looking forward to Friday. ************************************ 7:02 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House DING DONG. "COME IN!" Lorelai yelled down the stairs. "Door's open!" Cautiously, Craig walked into the house. "Lorelai?" "Up here! Wait!" She stuck her head into the living room. "Don't come up, I'll be down soon. Make yourself comfortable!" Craig looked around the living room. The couch was completely covered with pillows, stuffed animals (including Mr. Fuggernuts, he noted), and bags of opened junk food. "Did you have a party last night?" "Yup! Just me and Fuggernuts!" Craig picked up a bag of marshmallows. "Mmm. Marshmallows." "Help yourself. There's a can of whipped cream somewhere around there too." "Thanks." Craig popped some marshmallows in his mouth and put it back down on the couch. He walked around the room and eventually found a mirror in the hallway. Adjusting his jacket, he hoped that he looked okay. ** "Okay, I'm finished," Lorelai said, coming down the stairs. "Thanks for waiting." "Wow," Craig said, looking at her with wide-eyes. "You look great. It was worth the wait." "Thanks," Lorelai said, suddenly shy. 'You look pretty hot yourself.' "You do too. Like you just fell off the cover of a J. Crew catalog." Craig looked down at his shirt. "That's exactly where I got this shirt." "I know. I saw it when I read the catalog last week," Lorelai giggled. "You shop there often." "Yeah, I do," Craig said nodding. 'Note to self when buying presents,' She thought. Lorelai grabbed a cardigan off the couch and her bag. "Let's go." ************************************ 9:46 PM, Friday  
Barach's Café, Hartford "Okay, I have a joke for you!" Lorelai said giggling. "Okay," Craig said with an amused grin on his face. He leaned back in his chair and gave her a challenging look. "Let's see if you can beat my Batman joke." Lorelai smirked. "Why does Snow White always get mad at the seven dwarves?" "Because whenever they come back from work they sing 'Hi ho hi ho!'*** "Damn! How did you know?" Lorelai frowned. Craig smiled slyly. "I know all." "Oh really?" Lorelai said with a knowing look. "What's my favorite band?" "Uhh." "AH ha!" Lorelai said, poking a finger into Craig's side. "The Bangles. It's a good thing that quiz I'm giving you isn't about me." Craig smiled. "Yes, it is so much better that it is on what type of boys I like." He snorted. "You're an 'Eternal Flame' fan." Lorelai nodded. "My favorite song." She took another bite of her Krispy Kreme donut and took a sip of her coffee. "Wow, these donuts are amazing," Lorelai said in between bites. Craig nodded and took another donut from the plate. "Tell me about it. In college, I lived on these things." Lorelai licked the glaze off her fingers. "I think I'm going to start living off these things. Donuts are so important in my life." Craig watched her staring intently at her chocolate glazed donut. "Hello, darling," Lorelai said in her Louis voice. "Yum, yum." She took a bite of the donut. Craig laughed. "That was a pretty good Louis Armstrong imitation." "Thanks," Lorelai replied in her Louis voice. "Mmmm.. We need a Krispy Kreme factory in Star's Hollow." "With little Oompa Loompas?" "Exactly!" Lorelai said. "Wow, you are speaking my language! Oompas Loompas!" Craig smiled. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I used to be so obsessed with that movie. So much candy... it was like a dream come true." Lorelai nodded vigorously in agreement. "Mmm.. Chocolate and donuts." "Pizza and coffee. The four food groups," Craig stated. "And you're a doctor?" Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. "I'm a neurologist, not a cardiologist," Craig replied. "Or a dentist." "Thank God. I would never be able to date a cardiologist. He would just be like 'Eat this celery stick and let's go running afterwards' or something," Lorelai said, making a face. "Plus, he might not like Oompa Loompas," said Craig. ************************************ 11:57 PM, Friday  
Somewhere in Connecticut "Uh.. I think we're lost," Craig said as he turned into an exit. Lorelai peered out the window. "Where are we?" "Connecticut?" Craig said hopefully. "I'm sorry, I thought I knew the way back." "Aww, its' okay. I mean, I lose things all the time. Like the pink sweater I bought last week, can't find it anymore. I have no idea where it is! I mean, one minute it's there, the next it's gone!" Lorelai said, waving her hands in the air. "I'm Little Miss-Pink-Sweater one minute. The next I'm Miss-Pink-less-ness!" Craig smiled. "I'm not sure what you just said... but thanks for trying to make me feel better." "I wasn't trying to," Lorelai deadpanned. "I was just whining about my pink-less-ness." Craig smiled. "Okay." Lorelai giggled. "Ugh, I can't believe they kicked us out of that café. That was _so_ rude," Lorelai said, sighing melodramatically. Craig nodded. "Just because we were singing drinking songs." He sighed dramatically. "I thought we were harmonizing pretty well." "We were like the Carpenters, for crying out loud. I think they were just mad that I stood on stop of that table," Lorelai said biting her lip. "Probably," Craig said, grinning. "And harassed that cashier." "Or that." Lorelai giggled and looked at him. Craig sighed. "Where the heck are we??" "Connecticut?" ************************************ 12:24 AM, Saturday  
Luke's apartment 'I'm being paranoid,' Luke thought as he paced around his apartment. He picked up the phone and called Lorelai again. No answer. 'What are you going to do if she picks up?' Luke thought and slammed the phone down. What was he doing anyways? She was just going on a date with Craig; it wasn't as if she was going to Hell's Kitchen with some tattooed biker. Luke shook his head. He wanted to scream. He knew he was acting strangely and that he shouldn't be doing this, but he couldn't help but be worried. At about eleven, he had called, hoping to casually ask, "So, uh, how was your date with Craig?" He cringed at the word 'date'. But no one had picked up the phone. And as the clock ticked-tocked away, he had called.. six more times in the last hour. 'I'm starting to turn into a Dean,' He thought, staring at the phone. 'Except that Lorelai isn't my girlfriend.' He sighed. 'Okay, calm down,' He thought, walking from one side of the room to the other. 'She's probably just sleeping. She got tired.' Luke rubbed his temples. 'No more thinking about Lorelai.' He sighed, sat down in front of the couch, and turned on the television. He flipped through the channels. 'Baseball should get my mind off of this.' Channel 17 was rerunning last week's minor league game. But after about five minutes, he wasn't even looking at the game. Okay, so he was jealous. He admitted it. What if Craig attacked her? No, no, Craig wouldn't do that. Luke stood up from his chair. He looked at his watch; it was almost 12:30 AM. Finally, he looked at the door. Luke grabbed his jacket and ran out the door. ************************************ 12:37 AM, Saturday  
Hartford "Hey! This is the street my parents live on," Lorelai suddenly called out, pointing a finger out the window. "We're back in Hartford." "Oh good," Craig said, sighing with relief. "So we were in Connecticut." "We're good together!" Lorelai said smiling. 'Wait.. was it just me or did that sound really dirty?' "Uh, I mean.. I can tell you where to go from here." He peered out the window. "You lived there?" He pointed to a huge, towering house on the corner. Lorelai blushed. "Actually, it's the one next door." "Wow, impressive." "Don't be. It's hell on bricks." Craig lifted an eyebrow. "Could have been worse, I supposed," Lorelai said sighing. Craig stopped in front of the elder Gilmores' house. She tried to change the subject. "Turn right at the end of the road." Craig looked at Lorelai, who was looking out the window. She obviously didn't want to talk about it. "End of the road?" "Yup," Lorelai said, grateful that the subject had been changed. ************************************ 1:02 AM, Saturday  
Gilmore House Luke yawned and stretched. He had been sitting on the porch for half an hour and he was freezing. His watch read 1:02 AM. 'Where the hell are they?' He thought, just as a car came down the street. His eyed widened. Should he run? Or stay? What would Lorelai think if she found him checking up on her? ************************************ **http://www.findlink.gr/celeb/pitt/end.jpg - I imagine Craig wearing a suit like that.. ***AN: if you don't get it.. the dwarves are calling Snow White a ho. Hehe dirty but funny! 


	4. Kansas is flat, like Mamma Kim's cake

Moswen - Hahaha, hopefully he will grow some ba - courage.. LoL. I'll force it on him.. Erm.. Sounds weird hehe I'm sorry to those who live in Kansas. Proceed... **************************************** 1:03 AM, Saturday  
Gilmore House Luke dove behind a bush, just as the headlights rolled over the house and the car pulled into the driveway. The headlights ironically reminded him of one of those search lights they had at the high security prisons. 'So call me a coward,' He thought and cringed. But then again, the last thing he wanted to do was pull a Dean. The last thing anyone wanted to do was pull a Dean. Or a Taylor.. Or.. damnit were there any normal people in this town??? He peeked out from the bush and saw Lorelai getting out of Craig's BMW. "Thanks for tonight," She said and smiled at Craig. "I had fun," Craig replied and reached for her hand. She let him hold it as he walked her up to the front door. Luke pulled back slowly and held his breath. "So.. Uh.. ," Lorelai stuttered as they approached the porch stairs. Craig smiled softly and leaned towards her. Luke closed his eyes. 'No, no, no,' He thought. 'Don't kiss her!' He felt fiercely protective of Lorelai at that moment, because he knew they were falling for each other. He opened an eye. They were kissing. 'Goddamnit, Craig,' He thought, clenching his teeth. 'You better not hurt her, you bastard, or I'll wring your neck like..' "Luke?" Luke looked up at Lorelai nervously. She glared at him. "What are you doing here?" "I.. uh.. didn't.. um...see you today...," He stuttered as Craig looked at him strangely. "Observant," Lorelai said crossing her arms. "So.. I... thought.. Maybe.. I should come bring you some... danishes." "Danishes." Lorelai repeated. "At 1 o'clock in the morning." "Well, you know how it is.. You're sitting at home, watching.. Uh.. Minor league baseball.. And suddenly, you want a danish," Luke said, his face turning red. Lorelai gave him a look. "I don't watch minor league baseball. You should come up with an excuse better than that." "Or.. Um..," Luke said, trying to think of a show she liked. He couldn't think of anything, except the fact that he was sitting in the dirt, in front of Lorelai's house at 1 o'clock in the morning when he shouldn't be. "You know," Luke said suddenly, getting up. "Those danishes can wait until tomorrow morning." He brushed off his jeans. "They're not really night danishes anyways.. they're more morning danishes. Hi, Craig," Luke said, forcing himself to smile. Craig just nodded. "Hey, Luke." "Well, I'll see you then," Luke said, with a friendly wave and started to walk across the lawn. "Wait a minute!" He turned around, feeling uneasy at the sound of her voice. Lorelai was still standing in front of the bush, but with her arms crossed. "Where are the danishes?" "Huh?" Luke asked. "You said you were bringing me danishes, but you're not carrying anything," Lorelai said, matter of fact. "Well, uh.. see those danishes.. I.. erm.. ate them," Luke replied pathetically. "Um. Okay," Lorelai was confused. 'He doesn't eat danishes.' "Well," Luke said with a forced smile. "I should get going." He was halfway across the lawn when Lorelai called to him again. "Luke.. Next time, think of an excuse before you come." He cringed and kept walking. **************************************** 1:07 AM, Saturday  
Gilmore House Lorelai closed her eyes and leaned against the porch railing. "I have no idea what that was all about." Craig just smiled. "Very not like Luke," He commented. "You're telling me," Lorelai said. She looked up at him. "That was weird because I know for a fact, that he does not eat danishes." She frowned. "Actually, I was talking about the fact that he was sitting next to a bush, in front of your house, at 1 o'clock in the morning." "Oooh, right, that was weird too," Lorelai said melodramatically. "Well.. Anyways.. Before we were interrupted by Danish-eating slight creepy Luke.. Where were we?" Craig smiled slyly and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I believe we were here." Lorelai shook her head. Craig gave her a puppy face. "Actually," She said, giggling. "We were two more steps to the right." "Silly." He brought his lips down to hers. **************************************** 1:28 AM, Saturday  
Gilmore House Lorelai plopped down on her couch with a contented sigh. She smiled at Mr. Fuggernuts. "Well, Mr. Fuggernuts, it seems that we'll be having company the next time we have a party." She couldn't stop smiling. Lorelai couldn't sleep so after Craig left, she had changed and then came back downstairs to watch a movie. Something, anything to distract her from thoughts of Craig. All this happiness was making her hyper. She stretched out on the couch and flicked on the television. A couple minutes later, her mind drifted from South Park reruns to Luke.. And how freaky Luke was acting. 'It's like a Dean rerun,' Lorelai thought. 'Scary.' What really freaked her out was _why_ Luke had been hiding behind that bush. 'Was he checking up on me?' Lorelai thought. 'Does he think I need to be checked up on?' It was so .. not.. Luke. She was confused about the whole thing, and it was making her head hurt. Lorelai decided to refocus on Craig. She smiled giddily. **************************************** A Few Weeks Later  
1:35 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House "Mom?" Rory cautiously opened the front door and entered the house. "SURPRISE!" Rory's face broke into a grin as she saw Lane, Dave, Lorelai, Kirk, Patty, Babette, Morey, etc... the usual Star's Hollow denizens crowded into their living room. "Hi, honey!" Lorelai called out, wearing a silly hat on her head. "Welcome home!" "Aww, Mom," Rory said, setting her bags down. "You didn't have to do this! I'm just coming home from Yale." She rolled her eyes. "It's like thirty minutes away." "Roryy!" Lorelai whined. "I haven't seen you in weeks. I was afraid you had resorted to caveman-ism and was drawing on the walls of your dormroom while scratching yourself in places that you wouldn't not scratch while in public places." "That was only for midterms, Mom!" Rory hugged her mom. "Thanks for the party," she whispered into her mom's ear. They broke apart and Lorelai brought her daughter into the living room, where the party was already hopping. "Rory!" Lane giggled and dragged Dave to her best friend. "Wow, I haven't seen you in so long!" Rory gave her friend a big hug. "How are you liking Kansas?" Lane rolled her eyes. "Flat. It's flat. Very, very, very flat." Rory looked to Dave, the saner one. Dave just smiled and nodded. "It is very flat." Rory smiled at the couple and said, "At least you're together." Lane nodded and put her arm around Dave. "Yes, we're together in the flattest place in the world." "But, together," Rory stated. "I'll be right back. I'm just gonna go stop by the food table. That chocolate cake is beckoning me." Lane nodded. "Mamma Kim sent over some flour-less, egg-free cake. Don't touch it," She warned. Lane looked thoughtful. "Actually, the cake is also very flat.. it reminds me of Kansas.." She looked at Rory. "Look at the cake and tell me if it looks like Kansas." Laughing, Rory walked towards the table. "Got you, will check." Lane nodded. "Because if it does, it's probably my mother trying to remind me of Kansas, where I might add, I will be forced to return to and once again be in a place that is very.. flat." Rory smiled sympathetically. "I take it that flat is bad." "_Flat_ is very bad." As she was walking across the room, Rory was intercepted by a... "Rory!" Rory pulled her gaze away from the triple layer mocha chocolate chip cake and saw her mom pulling a man towards her. "Hey," Rory said. "Hi." The man smiled at her. He was taller than Lorelai, and wearing a green shirt that read "7 Up". "This is Craig," Lorelai said, beaming. "Ohhh, hi," Rory said, reaching out to shake his hand. "Nice to meet you." "Same," Craig said and smiled. "Your mom has been talking about you non-stop." Rory rolled her eyes. "And how she raised me herself..? She didn't tell you the birthing story did she?" "Actually," Craig sighed. "She did." Lorelai grinned as Craig and Rory shook their heads at her. "It's hard to believe that many moons ago.. I was lying in a hospital bed.." **************************************** 2:03 PM [it is a very long birth story, you kno!], Friday  
Gilmore House "So you.. work for 7UP?" Rory asked as she sipped her coke. "Should I not be drinking this?" She lifted her coke. "Because Coke and 7UP are rivals, right?" Craig laughed. "Nah, actually your mom bought me the shirt." "Ohh," Rory said. "Perplexing..." Lorelai came bouncing over to them. "I changed the CD. Ugh, I can't believe Kirk put on a Britney Spears CD. I knew I shouldn't have let him DJ for the party." She shook her head. "Isn't the t-shirt cool?" "I don't get it." Rory frowned. "Turn around," Lorelai said to Craig and grabbed his shoulders to turn him around. "And do the hokey-pokey, turn yourself around..." Craig just rolled his eyes and turned around. "Yours," Rory read off the back of his shirt. "Yay! Your Yale education is finally rubbing off.. You can read!" Lorelai said giddily. "No more alcohol for you!" Rory exclaimed. "Mean." Lorelai pouted. Rory smiled. "I don't get it." Lorelai flipped Craig to face Rory. "7UP.." She turned him back around. "Yours!" "Huh?" "Sorry," Lorelai said to Craig. "We're going to have to go through this again, Mr. Human Flashcard." Craig just smiled and let Lorelai turn him around again. "7UP.. Yours!" "Still not getting it." "Okay, that's it," Lorelai exclaimed, stamping her foot. "We're taking you out of Yale and putting you into Harvard." "Mooommmm!" "Up Yours! It says UP yours!" Lorelai said. "Suddenly.. It's not that amusing anymore." She folded her arms. "After about 6 times, it's not funny anymore." "Sorry," Rory said guiltily. Lorelai smiled. "I'm just kidding, honey." "I'm gonna go get some cake," Rory said. "Thanks for the lesson, Mr. Flashcard." "Anytime," Craig said and put an arm around Lorelai's waist. "Oh, and hon, stay away from the flat cake that looks like Kansas.. Mamma Kim made it!" Lorelai called after her daughter. **************************************** 2:34 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House Rory sat back with a contented sigh. She had just finished a slice of lemon pie and a slice of the mocha chocolate chip cake, a piece of heaven, courtesy of Sookie. "Ugh, I'm full," Rory groaned. 'I wonder where Jess is,' She thought as she watched the crowd smooze. "Hey," Craig said and sat down next to her. "Hi," Rory said. "I.. uh.. heard from your mom you like to read," Craig said. "Yeah, I do," Rory said. "And not just the back of t-shirts." Craig cracked a smile. "I was an English major in college," Craig said. "Cool," Rory replied. "So you go to Yale." "Yup." "You like it?" "Yup." "I see." An uncomfortable silence fell upon them. "I always liked the Fountainhead," Craig suddenly said. "Ayn Rand was always one of my favorites." "Me too!" Rory said, turning to him. "I actually have a signed copy of it," Craig said, leaning his elbows on his knees. "My father met her a while back and he gave it to me before he died. I keep it in my library." "You have a library?" Rory asked. "Yup," Craig said. "You should come down to see it some time." "I'd love to," Rory said. "I tried to show your mom, but all she was interested in was my extensive Bathroom Reader collection," Craig smiled. Rory laughed. "She likes those." "And I think she stole my 'History of American Films' book," Craig said, smiling. "You're never gonna get that back," Rory replied, matter of fact. "I assumed," Craig said, nodding. **************************************** K, so the next chapter is all written up, even special appearances by brussel sprouts and poodles (if you didn't get that, don't worry, u'll get it once u read it)! But... I'll only put it up if u press that little purple button.. no, no, not that one! ACK, not that one.. yup, that one in the bottom left corner! Oy~ with the poodles already! -Ggirl =) 


	5. Butch the Bushman and his Confused Bruss...

8:45 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House "God, those finals were crazy!" Rory exclaimed, putting her feet up on the coffee table. "Well, I'm glad you're home.. and still the saner one," Lorelai replied. She sighed and sat back. After everyone had gone home, they had started talking, just catching up on each other's lives since Rory visited during Christmas. Although Yale was only a short distance away, her hectic schedule usually didn't leave much time for visiting her mom. "Because I've been _soooo_ alone without you, babbbbyyyy..," Lorelai started to sing. "Mom!" Lorelai giggled. "Anyways, you weren't alone.. you had Craig," Rory said, smiling. "Speaking of that sexy sexy man.. What did you think about Craig?" Rory rolled her eyes but smiled. "He's nice.. And he has a signed copy of the Fountainhead!" She shook her head in amazement. "Wow." "The .. What-head?" Lorelai looked confused. ".. Oh! And he has like every single Bathroom Reader every printed!" Lorelai wiggled her eyebrows. "You didn't think he was _sexy_?" "Mom!!!" But Rory smiled, glad that her mom had found someone she really liked. "You should give him that 'History of American Films' book back." Lorelai feigned surprise. "Do not accuse me of pilfering his copy of the 'History of American Films', just because there was a really hot picture of Robert Redford in it!" Lorelai exclaimed, shaking her head. "Poopy... he told you, didn't he?" "I think your 'Oy! This is hot picture of Robert Redford!' might have thrown him off," Rory said. "Mean," Lorelai said and crossed her arms. "Uh.. By the way.. Where's Luke? I didn't seem him at the party." Rory tried to sound nonchalant. Lorelai already knew what Rory was hinting at. "Ha! You're wondering where Boy Wonder is." "Who?" "Jess." "Oh, well.. maybe," Rory gave her an embarrassed smile. "I haven't seen him since Christmas." "Long distances relationships can be hard," Lorelai said nodding. "I mean, Craig's only two hours away, but it's so hard to see him.." Lorelai looked a little sad. "I wish he lived in Star's Hollow." Rory sighed. "I know what you mean.. So, you don't know where Jess and Luke were?" Lorelai shook her head. "Oh, by the way, did I tell you that Luke pulled a _Dean_? His _Dean_ thing might have to do with why he wasn't here tonight... Because ever since he pulled a Dean, he has pretty much been avoiding contact with me.." "Pulled a dean? Out of what?" "He pulled a _Dean_." "Dean of what?" Rory looked confused. "Okay.. you're obviously _still_ in college mode. What I mean is that on the first date I went on with Craig, I came home and Luke was waiting for me, bushman style," Lorelai said. "Ohhh, a _Dean_," Rory exclaimed. "Wow, scary." "That was just weird," Lorelai said. "I still don't get it. I mean, he never did it again, but that night, there he was. Behind a bush, and five seconds later he was rambling about Danishes." "Danishes?" "And it wasn't even Danish Day!" Lorelai said, throwing her arms in the air. "No matter how much I think about it, it makes no sense." "And it wasn't Danish Day?!!" "Dr. Laura me here, Rory! I don't understand at all why Luke is acting so weird," Lorelai said. Rory furrowed her brow, deep in thought. "Craig is Luke's best friend, right?" "They were best friends in high school," Lorelai replied, hoping her daughter could figure out this enigma for her. "Does Craig call Luke 'Butch' too?" Rory giggled. Lorelai frowned. "Wow, I never thought about that. You think that has something to do with all this?" She was confused. Rory shook her head, giggling. "No, no, I was just curious about that." "Stay on the topic here, Missy!" "Okay, gotcha.. Hm.. I think Luke has a case of the Un-jolly Green Giant." "Huh?" Lorelai said. "And you, my lovely mother, are his little brussel sprout," Rory said, leaning back in the couch. "What?" Lorelai asked. "Brussel sprout?" Lorelai wiggled her eye brows. "That sounds potentially dirty..." Rory rolled her eyes. "He's jealous, hence the green, that Craig, who has been here for.. What? I dunno, but shorter than a decade, is now dating you, while Luke is still waiting..," Rory explained. "What is he waiting for?" Lorelai said, picturing Luke in green tights. 'An interesting sight… a bit scary perhaps.' "I don't like brussel sprouts.. Can I be a donut?" "Mom! You know Luke has a thing for you." "About my dressing up as a brussel sprout? I knew this was going to lead to something dirty..," Lorelai smiled slyly. "No, no! A _Thing_." "This is starting to sound like our 'Dean' conversation," Lorelai stated. "Yes it is. But you know what I mean. Luke has feelings for you and he's jealous that Craig, his former best friend, is now dating you instead of him." "Ha! Luke does not have feelings for me! The only thing he feels is.. that... I should eat better. And he was just.. feeling like a Danish," Lorelai said awkwardly. She pictured Luke in green tights with a green flannel shirt. 'Strange images cloud my mind.' "Oh, Mom, just admit it," Rory said sighing. "Luke likes you." ".. when I dress up as a brussel sprout?" Lorelai asked. "Enough with the brussel sprouts already!" "Oy, with the poodles already!" ********************************** 10:48 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House After Rory retreated to her room, Lorelai lay in her bed, thinking about the day's events. She was happy Rory was home again. Once again, she had a movie buddy 24/7. Craig was a cute movie buddy, but he lived so far away that he was usually exhausted after work and the drive. So, he fell asleep while she mocked whatever movie was on. Mocking was not as fun, without another mocker present. But Rory, she lived down the hall.. Rory would stay awake and they could mock together, all night long. 'Luke likes me?' She thought. 'Even when I'm not wearing my brussel sprout costume?' For years, people had been implying that Luke had 'feelings' for her, but she had never acted on it. Neither had he. So, she just let it hang in the air, pretending she didn't hear the Star's Hollow Gossip Committee's hints about a possible relationship between the coffee drinker and her supplier. They were best friends, and she wanted to keep it that way. 'Right?' But after she had found Luke hiding behind the bush a couple weeks ago... Luke started acting really weird around her. He barely even mumbled his usual "Hello" in the morning, didn't give her speeches, no rants, no grunts. Lorelai had thought it impossible, but there was actually an even _quieter_ side of Luke. And the scarier part was that whenever she walked into the diner, he had a look on his face like a stricken deer in headlights. He gave her coffee and ran like Peter Rabbit. 'Wonder what Luke would be like on a date?' She thought. 'Would he wear his hat backwards? Or...forwards?' She shook her head. 'What the hell am I thinking?' She wasn't supposed to be thinking about Luke right now; Craig was the one who should be on her mind. Craig who was so sweet and nice and cute and shopped at J. Crew and told funny jokes and was trying really hard to find a cure for her insanity.. Luke was gruff and flannel-clad and made her amazing coffee and her best friend and took care of her and.... Lorelai sighed. She was one confused brussel sprout. ********************************** 10:03 AM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner Luke kneeled behind the counter to find some Equals for Kirk. "I want seven, okay?" "Yeah, yeah," Luke mumbled under his breath. He searched the boxes. 'I need to clean under this counter some time.' The door on the bell jingled and Luke stood up, holding a box of Equals. 'Lorelai,' He thought as he watched her walk towards the counter. "Hi." "Hey," Luke muttered, averting his eyes. "Um.. Can we talk?" Lorelai asked, a serious look on her face. 'Oh boy,' Luke thought. "Hey!" Kirk broke in. "Can I get the.." Luke shoved the box in Kirk's face. "Take it," He shot. "Whoa, whoa," Kirk said and took the box. "You don't have to get all kung-fu on me." Luke rolled his eyes, although he was honestly glad to not have to look at Lorelai, even if Kirk was his only other option. Behind Lorelai, Rory stood, her hands deep in her jacket pockets. She was giving Luke a 'look'. He looked over Lorelai's shoulder at the younger Gilmore, confused by what Rory's eyes were trying to tell him. 'Talk to her,' Rory mouthed. "Hey, Rory," Luke said. 'Not to me!' Rory mouthed, sighing. "Nice to see you back," Luke continued. Rory rolled her eyes behind Lorelai's back, as if to say 'Don't be coward, Luke!' Luke sighed. "Thanks, I'm glad to be back. Um.. Is Jess around?" Rory asked. "Yeah, he's upstairs." Luke motioned towards the stairs. "Thanks," Rory said and started up the stairs. "So.. Um," Luke said, looking at the suddenly fascinating pattern of the counter. "What did you want to talk about?" Lorelai sighed. "Can I talk to you somewhere else?" She eyed Kirk, who pretended to be interested in his coffee. "I have customers," Luke said. "It's just Kirk," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Hey!" Kirk interrupted, giving her a look. "Stay here like a good boy and don't touch anything," Lorelai instructed and grabbed Luke's arm. Luke, alarmed by feeling of her hand around his arm, felt himself being dragged from the safety of the counter. Once outside the diner, Lorelai let go his arm. Luke was almost disappointed. She leaned against the side of the building and looked at him. "So, uh, what's up?" Luke asked, still avoiding her eyes. "Luke.. I just wanted to know what was up with _you_, because you've been acting really weird around me," Lorelai said, wondering why he kept avoiding her eyes. "I... I don't see a difference," Luke said, looking at the gazebo across the street. "Maybe because you avert your eyes every time I come into the diner," Lorelai replied. She turned him around and Luke found himself looking into her clear blue eyes. Lorelai was startled by the intense look in his eyes. "I.. uh.." Suddenly she was the one who couldn't speak. "I.. um.." Her mind was whirling. What was it that Rory said? 'Mom, you know Luke has a thing for you!' Suddenly, everything made sense. The chuppa, the way he was always there, the night he had been transformed into a bushman... "I.. I gotta go," Lorelai said quickly and started to walk away. Luke stood there, wondering what had just happened. ************************************** Tehehehe.. L/L all the way! Or should I say L/Craig.. hm.. you will just have to see won't you? Well, I apologize for my review-freaked self last night! It wasn't me. it was my evil review-eating slightly creepy evil twin sister ... H-girl! Yeah! Boo to her! Neways.. hehe I will continue working on Ch. 6.. which will be posted tomorrow.. if you didn't know.. I usually post a chapter a day.. Because i have no life.. POohahaha.. sad, sad... No, actually, I just really enjoy writing and stuff.. but neways, before this turns into a full-fledged bio, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed and if you have any criticisms, don't be afraid to tell me, cuz I appreciate your comments. Thanks again. -Ggirl, the normal one H-girl: I will be back ((laughs evilly)) 


	6. And She fell in love with who?

Awww thanx for the reviews! Hehe you guys are well read.. I didn't know the movie was called "Willy Wonka & the chocolate factory". However, I did read the book. That explains why I called it Charlie & the Chocolate Factory instead... Neways , so I realized today that my story is scarily similar to the real "Someone Like You", starring Ashley Judd and that Aussie (yum) Hugh Jackman.. Except that Lorelai doesn't do cheers in her underwear and Luke isn't living with her and Luke doesn't date lots of women and .. Okay suddenly not that similar... Btw, the whole point is for you guys to love Craig.. =) ((evil evil look on Ggirl's face)) will the brussel sprout get with the bushman? Or will she decide to change into a donut and get with the J.Crew model? Read on! btw, the sentences in italics are a song... It's "The Voice Within" by Christina Aguilera.. an awesome song.. and it totally fit into the context of the story. If you can, download the song and listen to it.. I think it's great background music for the story.. End of A/N cuz it's getting annoying!!!!! ********************************** 12:04 PM, Saturday  
Gilmore House "Mom?" Rory threw her jacket on the couch and started towards the kitchen. "Mom? Are you okay?" Rory sat down next to her mom at the kitchen table and put her hand on Lorelai's arm. Since Lorelai had run home from the diner, she had been sitting at the kitchen table with her head down. Lorelai had her head down on the table. She whimpered. "You were.. right." She lifted her head to look at Rory. "What?" "About Luke," Lorelai said, brushing tears from her face. Rory smiled sympathetically. "What happened?" "I went to the diner and then we went outside to talk," Lorelai said, a sad look in her eyes. "How could I have missed it, Rory?" She groaned in anguish. "It's okay," Rory said softly. "I mean, what other signs could there possibly have been? Cue cards? Posters? One of those silly little planes that write messages in the air? A song and dance starring Kirk and Patty?" Lorelai rambled. "Luke likes you, Lorelai. Luke has a thing for you, Lorelai. Luke gave you free coffee, Lorelai." "Maybe you had a coupon?" Rory put a hand on her mom's shoulder. "Mom, it's fine." "Fine?? China dishes are fine, I.. _am not_ fine...," Lorelai said with a final sigh. "But why now? I finally found someone that I like so much.. Craig is so perfect for me. And then this happens." "But if you like Craig so much, then why does it matter?" Rory asked. Lorelai shook her head in confusion. "I..I like Craig... a lot." "I know you do." "Craig is great. I can't.. just break up with Craig," Lorelai said. She held an imaginary phone to her ear. "Oh, hi, Craig, we're perfect for each other, but by the way, I think I might.. I'm not sure, but I_ might_ like your high school best friend, so let's just break up okay?" "So you're admitting that you like Luke as much as he likes you?" "No.. I .. I don't really know," Lorelai said, putting her head down again. "All of this was too sudden and I'm not sure what to do about it." "This changes everything," Rory said. "It does, doesn't it?" Lorelai answered in a muffled voice. "Everything is different now. Now that I know, I don't know if I can keep going on as flirty, adorable Lorelai. I might become awkward, weird Lorelai." She raised her head from the table and looked at her daughter. Rory resisted the urge to make a joke. "So what are you going to do now?" Rory asked. "Sit here and wallow in my confusion," Lorelai said. "Maybe over some stale donuts and marshmallow fluff." "About Luke and Craig?" Rory said. "I don't know." Lorelai stood up from the table and went to the refrigerator. "Craig is great. I can't even emphasize anymore how great Craig is.." "You need to talk to him," Rory said, standing up. "Who?" Lorelai said, sticking her head out from the fridge. "Luke." "Luke? Why?" Lorelai stuck her head out from the fridge to look at Rory. "Because otherwise you're just going to sit here all confused and not do anything about it. But at least if you go talk to him and ask him what's going on.." "As if Luke is going to talk? He doesn't even talk that much on a regular basis. You think he's going to open up about his feelings?" Lorelai sighed. "I don't even know.. if I like Luke like that. I mean, he's my best friend. You don't think about best friends like that." "Maybe you do," Rory said. "And if I don't like him like that, I just want to leave this all alone," Lorelai said frowning. Rory sighed. "I just want to see you happy, with someone who loves you." "Who's to say Craig doesn't love me?" Lorelai asked. "He gave me his American Films book." "You took it." "But he didn't make me give it back." "Luke gives you free coffee.. Who's to say he doesn't love you?" Rory asked, raising her brow. "Maybe he doesn't.. and then when I ask him about this, he'll be like 'Lorelai, you're definitely off your rocker.' and then everything will be weirder than it already is." Lorelai sighed again. "And, I'd have no coffee..." Lorelai leaned her head against the refridgerator door. "I don't know how I feel about Luke and the last thing that I want to do is screw up my relationship with Craig. I like Craig a lot. More than anyone else I've dated, with the exception of your father. I don't want to break up with Craig over some petty little thing that I might have for Luke. And maybe I don't even have a thing for Luke. Maybe, I'm just PMSing and I can't think straight." Exasperated with herself, Lorelai stuck her head back into the fridge. "For the love of God, where is the marshmallow fluff??" ********************************** 2:34 PM, Saturday  
Gilmore House After Rory left to go see Jess, Lorelai was left sitting at the kitchen table with the marshmallow fluff and donuts and tried to work out her feelings. 'Why the hell am I feeling like this???' Lorelai seethed to herself. 'I'm with Craig, I shouldn't be feeling this way about.. Luke.' Luke? Luke was her best friend; best friends don't fall in love. Not even in the movies. 'Like in My Best Friend's Wedding, except that I would be Dermot Mulroney and Luke would be Julia Roberts. Hm.. And Craig would be Cameron Diaz. That would make an interesting remake...,' Lorelai thought, cocking her head. She shook her head and sighed. She sighed and licked the last of the marshmallow fluff off her spoon. She had been sitting here for.. Lorelai looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Two hours. 'Wow, I sat still for two hours,' She thought, her eyes widening. Usually, she was moving around or pointing a finger at something she would then mock.. The last time she had nearly sat still for that long was through the _Titanic_. 'Oh, and what a long three hours it was...' Lorelai got up from her chair and stretched. Obviously, she was getting nowhere with this. Did she like him or not? Her heart didn't exactly do flips and cartwheels when she saw him. But then again, it didn't really do it unless she was watching Brad Pitt, aka. Hunky hunky man. But damnit, he was taken. 'And the one million dollar question, my friend: Craig or Luke?' She thought wryly as she reached for the box of donuts. ********************************** 10:22 AM, Sunday  
Luke's Diner Luke stood at the counter, taking orders from customers. The bell on the door jingled and he looked up to see who had walked in. A reluctant Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner. "Hey, Luke," Rory said smiling. Luke nodded his greeting and looked to Lorelai. Luke had known Lorelai, for what seemed like forever. And for the very first time, she was silent. No hello, no singing or dancing.... She just simply stood there, her arms hanging weakly at her sides. "Hi," Luke managed to say. Lorelai just nodded quietly and went to go sit down at their usual table. "Mom says hi," Rory cleared her throat. "She's got.. um.. bronchitis." "Oh." Luke looked at Lorelai sitting passively at the table. 'Weird.' Yesterday she had just looked at him and then ran away like a puppy who had been kicked by its owner. "You want soup?" He called out across the diner. Lorelai nodded. "Okay," Luke said, confused and rather disturbed by her silence. "I'll have pancakes please," Rory said in a forced chipper tone. "Coming right up." Luke turned away from the table, relieved to escape Lorelai's eerie silence. "Mom," Rory whispered across the table. "Talk to him." "I can't." Lorelai covered her face with her hands. "Now that I know, I can't talk. I'm going to say something stupid." She suddenly got up from her seat. "I gotta go now." Lorelai started towards the door. "Mom, you can't-" Rory started, but her mom was already out the door. ********************************** 11:03 AM, Sunday  
The bridge _Young girl, don't cry_ Lorelai found herself at the bridge. Sighing, she sat down, ignoring the fact that she hated nature and that there was plenty of it where she was. _I'll be right there when your world starts to fall_ It wasn't Luke that confused her. Everything about Luke was so clear to her now. What confused her was how _she_ was reacting to the situation. After all, if Craig was the one she liked, why was she agonizing over this entire situation? _Young girl, it's all right_ On one hand was Luke, her best friend... Luke, who was steady and hated change.. Luke who would probably go out on a limb to do stuff for her.. And had done so, many times before. _Your tears will dry, you'll soon be free to fly_ She shook her head furiously. 'No, no, no,' She thought guiltily. This wasn't what (or who) she should be thinking about. Craig, she was supposed to be wholly dedicated to her boyfriend. _When you're safe inside your room you tend to dream_ On the other hand, there was Craig: funny, cute, smart, and rich. He was the ideal boyfriend; someone her parents would definitely approve of, someone who could make her laugh... _Of a place where nothing's harder than it seems_ But Luke.. And that look. Craig didn't have that look. Lorelai sighed as she swung her legs back and forth. _No one ever wants or bothers to explain_ What was she was so afraid of? _Of the heartache life can bring and what it means_ Could it be the fact that she.. _When there's no one else_ "Hi." _Look inside yourself_ A familiar voice broke her thoughts. _Like your oldest friend_ Lorelai turned her head slowly upwards to face Luke. _Just trust the voice within....._ He stood awkwardly, one hand stuffed in his pocket, and the other carrying a paper bag. "Your.. um.. soup," Luke stuttered and handed her the bag. Lorelai nodded her thanks and took the bag. She looked back down at the water. Luke sighed and finally sat down next to her. "Are.. we..," Luke started, watching her swinging legs. "We..?" Lorelai looked into his eyes. The same intense look was there. Suddenly her brain was swimming, and she was the tiniest fish in the world. "Whoa," Luke said, grabbing her arm. "Are you okay?" "Yeah," Lorelai said, shaking her head. "Yeah, I'm.. fine." 'What the hell was that?' "I should go." "Yeah." ".. Um..eat this soup." She lifted the bag for him to see. "Right." Luke nodded. Lorelai started to stand up. "Hey," Lorelai said, standing above him. "We're still friends, right? I know the whole bush-thing was weird, but..." Luke laughed nervously. "Sorry about that. I just.. I got worried and I called you.. And no one picked up so.." Luke felt really awkward. "And uh.. the Danishes..." Lorelai smiled gently. "Thanks." 'This is how we're supposed to be.. friends, not lovers.' Dependable Luke.. She needed someone wild and exciting like Craig, not someone dependable and quiet like Luke. Luke was a good friend, and always would be. The last thing she needed was to date someone she needed as a friend. "You're welcome." He stood up too and they stood together, both shuffling their feet nervously. Luke looked at Lorelai, her eyes averted from his. "Well," He finally said. "Bye now.." "Bye," Lorelai started. He started to walk off the bridge. "And Luke.." He turned around. 'Tell me something I want to hear,' His eyes seemed to say to her. Lorelai took a deep breath, trying to ignore the way his eyes looked. 'I hope I'm making the right decision.' "We're good now? Everything back to normal? We're friends?" 'Just friends,' Lorelai thought. 'I like being friends.' Luke nodded. "Yeah. Friends." 'Just.. friends.' He sighed, almost too sadly. "Good," Lorelai said, relieved. She smiled one of those amazing smiles that made Luke's stomach flip-flop. She tried to ignore the lump in her throat. Coffee would wash it down. "I think this calls for coffee." Luke smiled at her. "I guess so." ********************************** Well, well, well.. hehe Before you all yell at me for not getting luke and lorelai together.. i must remind u.. i am a javajunkie FOREVER But we shall see what twists and turns will befall our happy trio.. a tornado? a car accident? A bad hair cut? A heinous shirt with tassels? Moohahahahhaaaa I love fanfiction. -Ggirl 


	7. Don't need your help

A Few Weeks Later  
5:36 PM, Wednesday   
Star's Hollow Gazebo "You're a poopy!" "Good comeback," Craig said, smiling at her walking backwards away from him. "I might actually think about not tickling you anymore." He lunged for her but Lorelai swat his arms away. She squealed. Craig just laughed and tickled her again. "Stop....it..," Lorelai whined in between bursts of laughter. Craig stopped tickling her long enough to look at her. "Then what should I do?" He asked, almost flirtatiously. Lorelai was gasping for breath. They had been running around the gazebo for almost half and hour and she was exhausted. "I don't... know," She gasped. "But I'm tired.... Too much physical exertion." Craig grabbed her around her waist. She giggled as he pulled her towards him. He had a hand in the small of her back and Lorelai found herself leaning into him as he put his lips against hers. "Mmmmm," Lorelai murmured. "I like this game better." Craig laughed huskily. "Me too." ********************************** 5:38 PM, Wednesday  
Luke's Diner Luke looked up from the counter and across the street to the gazebo. When he saw Lorelai and Craig kissing, he felt his face turn red. He turned his face away. So he was jealous. What else was new? God, he didn't want to see Lorelai getting hurt. Seeing her with Craig was bringing memories back... _ About 15 years back..  
"Hey, Craig," Rachel smiled and scooted over on the bench to let Craig sit down. Craig just stood there. "I.. Uh.. Can I talk to you, Rachel?" Rachel looked at him with curious eyes. "Why?" "Well... come on," Craig motioned for her to get up and started to walk away. "But... Luke is gonna run soon," Rachel pointed to Luke stretching below. Luke looked up to see Craig standing before Rachel in the bleachers. He waved at them. Craig waved back and Rachel followed suit, weakly. Luke frowned as he saw Rachel and Craig leaving the stadium. He had seen this scene so many times before. 'He's gonna break up with her,' He thought angrily. Yes, Craig was his best friend, but he could be such a jerk sometimes. At age eighteen, Craig Diodorous had set the record for dating the most girls during high school. Almost ¾ of the Star's Hollow high school female population had gone out with him. But it didn't matter that he was a 'player', all the girls wanted him anyways. Class president, football star, honor roll, charm, looks.. The guy was Star Hollow's own Adonis. And Luke was his sidekick, quiet and subdued. The two were really unlikely pair of friends, but they had been friends for almost their entire lives. But Rachel.... She and Luke had become friends almost from the very start. He didn't really talk to girls much. Luke usually kept to Craig and his track buddies. Even at eighteen, he couldn't figure out how to talk to girls. Rachel.. she was so friendly, so open to him.. something had clicked between him. And the only thing keeping him from asking her out was.. Craig. And the fact that Rachel adored Craig. "Butch!" Luke turned around to face his coach with a calm expression on his face. Inside he was seething. How could Craig break up with Rachel?? Rachel was pretty, smart, nice.. wonderful.. "Butch! Let's go," Coach motioned for him to hurry towards the starting line. Luke jogged towards the starting line, looking behind him to see if Rachel had come back. She hadn't. "Ready.. set... GO!" The gun was shot and Luke found himself sprinting towards the end line. "BUTCH! Slow DOWN!" He heard the coach screaming at him. "YOU'RE GONNA LOSE WIND!" Luke didn't even acknowledge the coach's presence. He just kept running, faster and faster. He had to see Rachel.. 'You better not hurt her, you jerk,' Luke thought angrily, pumping his arms. Out of all the girls Craig had even dated, Luke felt that Rachel was special. Luke shook his head. 'Do I.. ?' He tried to force the thought out of his mind. Luke jumped over the last hurdle and broke through the finishing line. He put his head in between his knees and was panting heavily. The coach was running towards him. "DANES! THAT WAS AMAZING!" Luke turned around to see the other hurdlers coming through the finish line. "FREAKIN AMAZING!" The coach was still rambling. "THIS KID'S GONNA BE A STAR!!" Luke ignored the coach and struggled to get up. His body was heaving from the pain and he could barely breathe. But only one thought was on his mind. Where was Rachel? Luke started to jog out of the stadium. "BUTCH! WHERE ARE YOU GOING???" He ignored the coach and started towards the parking lot. Luke saw Rachel from across the lot. Her head was in her hands and she leaning against his truck. He jogged up to her. "Hey," Luke said. Rachel lifted her tear-stained face to him. "He broke up with me." "I know," Luke said gently and leaned on the bumper next to her. "I'm sorry." "He's such a jerk." Rachel looked down at the ground. "He likes Pamela Johnson, doesn't he?" Luke shrugged. "Don't worry about him. You're too good for him anyways." Rachel groaned in anger. "I don't understand why he would break up with me then. I know he likes her. He's been talking to her so much and eating lunch with her. God, I don't understand guys." Rachel turned to face him. "Is it my fault? Am I too clingy?" Luke sighed and pat her shoulder. "Rachel, you're a great person. You're nice and pretty and any guy would be lucky to have you." Rachel looked up to him slowly. "You think so?" Luke cleared his throat. 'Oops, shouldn't have let that one out..' "Yeah, I mean, if I were.. one of those guys to ask girls out right after.. um.. their friends dumped them.. I might.." Luke felt her lips pressed against his and his arms were soon wrapping around her body. She was warm and smelled like peaches. _ The sound of the bell jingling woke him out of his reverie. He saw Lorelai and Craig walk in, hand in hand. "Hey, Luke!" Lorelai called out from across the diner. "Hi." "Hey," Craig said, beaming at Lorelai. Why was he such a coward? Why couldn't he just tell Lorelai how he felt? Did Craig have to dump her first before he could tell her how he felt??? As he watched the couple sit down together, he felt anger bubbling inside of him. 'Don't hurt her..,' He thought. Luke knew the games Craig played. And the last thing he would do is let Craig hurt Lorelai. ********************************** Next Day  
7:45 AM, Thursday  
Luke's Diner  
"Hey, Luke," Lorelai called out in a sing-song voice as she waltzed into the empty diner. Luke muttered a greeting and turned back to the coffee pot. "You're here early." "Have to get in early before the linen people come," She said cheerily. He grumbled. "I can see you're in a good mood this morning," Lorelai said cheerfully and swung her bag onto a swiveling chair next to her. She flopped down on one herself and leaned on the counter. "I'm just tired," Luke grunted. "Craig go home?" "Yup. Coffee?" She looked up at him with puppy eyes. He automatically poured her a cup. "No lecture? No satanically engineered plans of preventing me from downing another cup of heaven?" Luke shrugged. "It can't possibly be this easy," Lorelai said and furrowed her brow. "Try again. If you fail the first time, try, try, try again." He sighed and put the pot down. "Wow, you must be in a really bad mood," Lorelai set her cup down and leaned across the counter. "Talk to me, Bud." Luke threw his hands in the air. "Damnit, Lorelai," He said angrily. "Can't you see what's happening?" Lorelai was taken back. "No..." "Craig is... He just wants to get you into his bed." Luke had an awkward look on his face but his words were forceful. "What?!" Lorelai said, jumping up from her seat. "What are you talking bout? Craig's your best friend." Lorelai said poking a finger into his side. "BEST friend. You don't say bad things about your best friends." "I know him. I know that's all he does is go around sleeping with women. I was his best friend in high school, for god's sake, you don't think I know him?" "Stop it!" Lorelai yelled. "This is between Craig and I, and you have no business sticking your nose into our relationship." She was really angry now. "In high school he went out with half the cheerleading squad, most of the pep squad, and strangely enough a lot of the Future Homemakers of America girls!" "That was high school, Luke! Maybe.. He didn't know who he liked yet, okay? When people are young, they want to date different people!" Lorelai called back. "I didn't! And people don't change that easily, okay?" He shook a finger at her angrily. "You think they change but they're still the same!" "Oh, and you would be the expert in that, right?" Lorelai called back. "Change?" Luke frowned. "I don't want to argue with you." "Oh really?" Lorelai said sarcastically. "I'm sorry for being the one who started this argument." "I just don't want to see you getting hurt." Luke remarked. "No, you just don't want to see me happy because you are miserable." Lorelai said rapidly and angrily. Luke's mouth dropped open in surprise. "WHAT?" He glared at her. "You're just upset because I found this wonderful guy who likes me and you.. you're still alone," Lorelai yelled back. "I... am not miserable." "Yes you are. I see you moping around here," Lorelai said, her eyes narrowed. "Right, and you, little Ms. Know-It-All, would know why I am, right?" Luke suddenly yelled. "Because you know everything there is." She grabbed her bag. "Especially about relationships!!!" Lorelai glared at him. "Remember Max? The guy who you practically dumped at the altar? Remember him??" Luke was right in her face now. 'Oh God, Luke, what are you saying to her??!!' He thought. But it was too late. "Shut up!" Lorelai swerved around and slammed her fist down on the counter. "You're not exactly Mr. Relationship either. You haven't even dated since Rachel.. Your high school sweetheart!" "Be careful with Craig..." Luke started, narrowing his eyes. "He's not the type of guy..." Lorelai took a deep breath and interrupted him. "I think I should go now, because you obviously don't approve of my relationships." She was furious. She started to walk out of the diner but abruptly stopped and turned to face him. "Of course, I don't know why I would need your approval." She snapped and threw open the door. Lorelai glared at him one last time and walked out. Sighing, Luke leaned against the counter and put his face in his hands. ********************************** 10:04 AM, Thursday  
Independence Inn "You're happy today," Lorelai grumpily commented to a smiling Michel. "Yes I am," Michel replied. "Your face is the picture of gloom today, therefore I am happy. Somehow, without even saying a word, I have already upset you. My technique is improving." "Sadist," Lorelai mumbled. "What a beautiful morning!" Michel said, spreading his arms widely. "Beautiful weather." "What next? You're going to rid of all the coffee in the world?" Lorelai grumbled. "Next on my agenda," Michel quipped and started to prance towards the kitchen. Lorelai sighed and leaned against the counter, with her face in her hands. "Uh.. Excuse me?" Lorelai looked up to find a tall, snow-haired man smiling gently at her. "Are you okay?" He asked. She laughed nervously. "I'm fine. How may I help you?" "Well," the man replied. "I'm looking for the woman who runs this place." "That would be me," Lorelai said, offering her hand. "Lorelai Gilmore." "Ahh," the man answered and shook her hand. "Is there a problem?" "No, no," he shook his head. "None at all, actually. I just wanted to compliment your incredible service and wanted to meet the woman behind it all." Lorelai smiled brightly. "Thank you very much, Mr..." "Hilton." [AN: I know nothing about the Hiltons, just made this up.. So this guy owns the entire Hilton chain, yadda, yadda.. Just play along with me here, folks.] "Hilton?" Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "As in Hilton Hotels?" "I'm glad you've heard of them," Mr. Hilton smiled. "Is there anywhere we could talk?" "Uh.. Sure," Lorelai said nodding slowly. "My office is this way." She motioned towards the door behind her. Mr. Hilton nodded and stepped into the little room. "So..," Lorelai started, sitting down. "Well, I have visited quite few hotels and inns on my trip," Mr. Hilton started. "However, I had yet to be impressed by any of them, until I came here." "Thank you." "I'm very impressed with the way everything here is run. The service is impeccable, your staff is polite and helpful..," he continued. "However, that French man was a bit rude..." Lorelai laughed. "Oh, that's just Michel." "I see," He said. "Anyways, I wanted to speak with you because a new Hilton Hotel was recently opened a new location on Fifth Avenue in New York City. I'm looking for an executive manager." Lorelai's mouth dropped open. "I'm not sure Michel would exactly fit that role..," She joked. He laughed. "I think you know what I'm going to ask next." "Where we order our linen from?" "No, if you are interested in running the new Hilton." Lorelai gaped at him. "I.. I don't know what to say," She said shaking her head. "This is.. I don't think I have enough experience to run a hotel that large and.. that important. I mean, Fifth Avenue.. This new hotel has to be a very important part of your..." "I want you to work for me," He interrupted and leaned forward. "You're very good at what you do. I came here on the recommendation of someone on my staff. I think you'd be very suited for this job." Lorelai shook her head in disbelief. "I.." 'Leave Star's Hollow?' She thought. 'That's unthinkable..' "Please think about it," Mr. Hilton said and stood up. "Here's my card." "I don't think I could take this job," Lorelai finally said. "My life is here. Moving would be unimaginable for me." He smiled. "Just think about it." He handed her his business card. "There's a six digit figure on the back of this card. You might be interested in looking at that as well." Lorelai tentatively took the card. "Thank you for coming..," She said breathlessly. "Thank you." Mr. Hilton flashed her a bright smile and quietly left the office. Lorelai turned the card over. "Holy crap!" She gaped at the salary written on the back of the card. "Wow." Not only was it six figures, it was a large six figures. She flipped the card back and read the name: James Hilton, CEO of Hilton Hotels, Inc. She let out a deep breath and tucked the card into her handbag. "Enough already!" She groaned and shook her fist at the ceiling. "Too much in one day." She thought back to her fight with Luke.. And now this. This job offer was just a headache. It was too incredible, too unbelievable, but so not for her. 'Star's Hollow is everything to me,' She thought and put her head down on her desk. 'I've lived here for years. Rory's lived here for years.... this is the only home she's ever known.' But was that the only thing that was keeping her here? 


	8. Is this goodbye

ahhh sorry guys there was sucha delay between this chapter and the last.. hehe school sux.. they should get rid of school so i can work on my fanfic.. lol i wish -Ggirl ****************************** starbelly: hehe. yeah, poor luke.. i love luke.. luke_lorelai_ash: awww.. thanks! miss.pebbles: you should write hehe.. well, if you want to thanks to all of you for reviews! ****************************** 7:35 AM, Saturday  
Gilmore House "Rory!" "Mom!" Lorelai gave her daughter a look of disgust. "Do not mock me!" Lorelai yawned. "It's too early for moving." Rory just laughed. "For you, 7 o'clock is too early for anything!" Lorelai nodded sleepily. Rory closed the door on the U-Haul. "I think we're set." "Great!" Lorelai said and smiled. "Do we have Sookie's travel pack?" Rory lifted the basket of food from behind the driver`s chair and showed it to her mom. Lorelai nodded in approval. "Can I drive?" Rory asked. Lorelai shrugged. "Okay," She said and tossed her the keys. Rory got into the driver's seat and started the engine. "We're off!" Lorelai giggled. "This feels like a road trip." "But better," Rory said, nodding. "Aww, you just think it's better because the internship that awaits you." "Maybe," Rory replied and giggled. "I'm so excited!" Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Only you, my dear, would be excited for work!" Rory smiled and started to pull out of the driveway. "Okay, we need traveling music," Lorelai said and opened the box at her feet and started to dig through it. "AH-ha! My Ricki Lee Jones tape! I thought I lost this." She looked up from the box of tapes when the truck stopped. "We forgot something," Rory said, turning off the engine. "What?" Lorelai looked out the window. Rory had stopped the U-Haul in front of Luke's. "No," Lorelai said firmly, shaking her head. "No." "Yes," Rory countered. "You're leaving for two months, Mom. Luke is your best friend, you can't just walk away angry at each other." "Yes, I can. Watch me, except that I'll be driving instead of walking," Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "We're trading seats now. I will drive to New York." "Fine," Rory said, frowning. "I'm going to go bring him out." "I'll drive away!" Lorelai threatened. "No you won't." Rory got out of the driver's side and hopped down. "Damn," Lorelai muttered as she watched Rory enter the diner. ****************************** 7:37 AM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner Luke looked up as a frowning Rory entered the diner. "Hi," Luke said. Rory folded her arms across her chest. "Don't you think this is going too far?" "Yes," Luke replied. "New York _is_ far." Rory shook her head. "I mean about you and Mom. I really wish the two of you would make up." Luke sighed. "I should start a list of people who have said the same thing. The only people missing are Axl Rose and the Pope." Rory gave him a quizzical look. "Did you just crack a joke?" He rolled his eyes. "I was being sarcastic," Luke replied. "Is .. She.." "She's outside," Rory said and leaned against the counter. "Please, Luke, you know how stubborn she is. Can you just apologize so you guys can be friends again? I think she misses you, but she doesn't want to apologize first because that would be like dishonoring the holy wrath of Craig or something." Luke frowned at the mention of Craig. `Is this still about Craig?' "I can be stubborn too." He turned back to rearranging the menus. Rory grabbed his arm. He was startled by her sudden movement and stopped to look at her. "Please," She pleaded. "We're going to be gone for two months, maybe more-" Luke sighed. "I can't. I mean, she said things, I said things.. I think it's better if we just let it be for now." Rory hung her head sadly. "I hope you two know what you're doing." He ignored her comment. "Have fun in New York." "Thanks," Rory muttered and left the diner. ****************************** 7:42 AM, Saturday  
In Front of Luke's Diner Lorelai looked up when the diner door opened. Rory stepped out of the diner. Alone. She was torn by the sight of her daughter walking back to the truck alone. Didn't Luke want to see her? Was it really over this time? Trying to keep her emotions under control, Lorelai forced a smile as Rory got into the driver's seat. "He's not coming?" Lorelai said raising an eyebrow. `So that's how it's gonna be,' Lorelai thought, frowning. "No," Rory replied, turning the engine on. Exasperated, Rory turned to her mom. "Mom, can't you just apologize.." "No," Lorelai interrupted. Rory sighed, seeing that any mediation on her part was impossible, and started to drive out of Star's Hollow. ****************************** 7:45 AM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner Luke watched as the truck pulled away from the diner. `Two months is a long time,' He thought, wiping down the counter. His eyes widened. A really long time. Throwing the dish towel on the counter, Luke ran out the front door of the diner. "Lorelai!" He yelled at the truck as it turned a corner. "Lorelai! I'm sorry!" He called out, running after it. Although he ran as fast as he could, he couldn't catch up. The truck disappeared from his view. ****************************** About two weeks later  
7:45 AM, Monday New York City Lorelai took a sip from the cup and grimaced. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Rory. "Cross Giovanni's off the list," She said and threw the cup in the garbage. "Gotcha," Rory said. "I crossed off Ed's Café, too. Coffee tastes like water with brown food dye." Rory walked through the swiveling doors into the building. "Seventh floor please," She said to the man in the elevator. He nodded and pressed the button as the doors closed behind her. "That bad?" Lorelai asked, as she walked around the corner to the Hilton. "Worse," Rory said and stepped off the elevator into the bustling New York Times office. "Rory!" A man was charging towards her with a pile of folders in his arms. Eyeing the files in his arms, Rory said sarcastically, "And it keeps getting better!" Lorelai was confused. "What?" "Hi, Joe," Rory said, greeting her boss. "Mom, I gotta go, I'll see you later!" She rapidly hung up and threw the phone into her bag. Joe put the stack of files in her arms. "Yay," Rory said, grimacing under the weight. Lorelai turned off her phone and walked into her office. "Ms. Gilmore!" She turned around to face her assistant, Maryanne. "Hi, Maryanne." "Good morning," Maryanne said and smiled. "Mr. Hilton is waiting for you in the ballroom." "Oh, okay," Lorelai said and threw her stuff on her desk. "Do you know any more coffee places?" Maryanne looked thoughtful. "I told you most of the ones I know.." "I think I've gone to every coffee house in this side of New York City," Lorelai sighed. "Nothing good yet. Every place is bad, or badder, or.. baddest." She cocked her head. "I don't think that's a word." Maryanne shook her head. "It's not." Lorelai sighed and took off her coat. "What would I do without you, Maryanne?" She smiled at her assistant. Although she had only been in New York for about 2 weeks, she loved most of it. Sure, there were things to get used to, like the enormous amount of traffic and the rude people, but there were other things she loved. Like her new job, which was wonderful, and Maryanne, who was an amazing assistant. Unlike Michel. But heck, she had to admit, she kind of missed annoying him every morning. And Luke, too. "Ms. Gilmore?" Lorelai shook her head, as if to shake the thought of Luke out of her head. "Huh?" She asked. "Mr. Hilton?" Maryanne said, motioning towards the door. "Oh! Right, right," Lorelai said and left the office. "Lorelai!" Mr. Hilton said, and stood up as she walked into the ballroom. "Come in, I want you to meet one of my good friends, Mrs. Elizabeth Gorman." He motioned to the crisply dressed woman next to him. Mrs. Gorman was wearing a Hilary-Clinton-esque business suit and her hair was primped to perfection. "How do you do?" Mrs. Gorman said, in a faint English accent. She gave Lorelai a fake smile (it was really more a grimace). `My Fair Lady,' Lorelai thought, listening to the lilt in the woman's voice. "Wonderful, thank you," She replied and returned a plastic smile. `The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain.' "Mrs. Gorman holds her national conference here every year," Mr. Hilton said. "Oh," Lorelai said nodding. "What kind of conference?" "I'm the president of the Daughters of American Revolution," the woman said haughtily. `You gotta be kidding me,' Lorelai thought, as her jaw dropped to the ground. "DAR?" She squeaked. "Yes," Mrs. Gorman said, surprised. "Have you heard of it?" Lorelai recovered from the shock. "Uh, yes, in fact, I've organized DAR meetings before." "Wonderful!" Mr. Hilton said and beamed. "I told you she was good, Elizabeth." Mrs. Gorman just harrumphed. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Where would you like the convention?" "I'd like to do it here, of course," Mrs. Gorman said. "We _always_ have it in the ballroom." "Great," Lorelai said and forced another smile. "This is a great place for a DAR convention." 'Another great place would be on the other side of the universe.' "I was hoping to work out the menu today," Mrs. Gorman continued, ignoring Lorelai's comment. 'Preferably with my mother,' Lorelai thought. "To the kitchen then," Mr. Hilton said and helped Mrs. Gorman up. The two started to walk out of the room. Lorelai sat there, her eyes practically bulging out of her head. `And I thought dealing with my mother was horrible.' She shook her head. "Lorelai!" Mr. Hilton called to her. "Are you coming?" "Yup, coming!" She said and hurriedly got up. Mr. Hilton and Mrs. Gorman left the ballroom. Lorelai hurried after them. `God help me, for I am with the Granddaddy (or Grandmommy) of DAR,' She thought and looked up to the sky with pleading eyes. ****************************** 10:34 PM, Monday  
Lorelai and Rory's apartment A very tired Lorelai walked into her apartment and smelled something in the air. 'Rory.. Cooking?' Lorelai shuddered at the thought. 'Her impersonating Donna Reed once was enough.' She threw her coat and bag on the couch and went into the kitchen. Craig was standing at the stove, his hair and clothes disheveled. He looked so adorable, standing with a spoon in one hand and a confused look on his face. "No..," He groaned as he stirred the contents of the pot with his spoon. Craig sniffed the pot and frowned. "Hey, Martha Stewart," Lorelai said and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Hey, you're home," Craig said and looked a his watch. "Wow, is it really that late?" "Yeah," She murmured and put her cheek against his back. "I had the worst day ever." Craig turned off the stove and turned around to face her. "I'm sorry." He kissed her on the nose. "You were cooking for me?" Lorelai smiled up at him. Craig looked embarrassed. "I tried to make soup. But it doesn't look.. Or smell like soup." "Yeah," Lorelai said, peering into the pot. "I was wondering why the apartment smelled like Joe's Garage." Craig grimaced. "Sorry," he said bashfully. "Aww, you're so cute!" Lorelai giggled. "You tried to cook.. For me! As a surprise!" Craig laughed as she nuzzled her face into his neck. He gave her a big sloppy kiss. "I love you," He said. Lorelai bit her lip nervously. "Do you love me?" He asked, tucking her head under his chin. "I..," Lorelai started. "Mom! Why does the house smell like gasoline?" Rory called out as she walked into the apartment. She walked into the kitchen to see Craig and Lorelai hugging. "You guys tried to cook, didn't you?" 'Saved by Rory,' Lorelai thought, as she looked gratefully at her daughter. Craig looked embarrassed again. "Actually, it was just me." Rory giggled. "It smells like that time that mom tried to make hamburger helper.." "Stop right there, young lady!" Lorelai said sternly. Rory just laughed. "Okay, well, I have work to do." She smiled at happy couple and retreated to her room. "So, tell me why your day was bad," Craig said later, as they were attempting to clean up the mess. "Okay," Lorelai said and stopped wiping dishes. "When I was at the Independence Inn, my mother always made me arrange her horrible DAR meetings.. And so when I came here, I was like 'Yay! No more DAR!' But then today, I come into work, and guess who's there?" "Paula Abdul?" "Worse." "Simon Cowell?" "Getting closer, but no falafel," Lorelai replied. Craig looked confused. "The President of DAR, the granddaddy of the nit-pickers of the world! She makes my mother look like a direct descendent of God," Lorelai said, sighing. "Sounds like you're gonna have fun," Craig replied as he scrubbed the remnants of carrots out of the pot. Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I'd rather sit through simultaneous screenings of Glitter and Freddy Got Fingered." "I liked Freddy Got Fingered." "Only you, Craig," Lorelai said rolling her eyes. "You and Tom Green." "I think we make a lovely couple," Craig said, wiggling his eyebrows. ****************************** 12:03 AM, Tuesday  
Lorelai and Rory's Apartment Lorelai sighed and brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I hate paperwork," She said and sighed. As executive manager of a big name hotel, there were so many papers to fill out and read. Really, it was sickening. There was probably a whole rainforest in her apartment at that very moment. Lorelai ate another marshmallow and sat back on the couch. Eating junk food reminded her of Luke. He was always there berating her for her creative eating habits. 'He's just jealous,' She thought smiling affectionately. How long had it been since she talked to him? ****************************** 12:03 AM, Tuesday  
Luke's Diner After a busy night at the diner, a very tired Luke slowly staggered up the stairs to his apartment. Nights like this made him crazy. A busload of tourists from New York City had come. 'New York,' He thought, his eyes lighting up. 'Lorelai..' Now that he thought about it, he was just being silly. Okay, so he missed her a lot. No matter how he tried to keep himself busy, he would think about her. In the mornings, whenever early morning stragglers came in, at the jingle of the bell, he would find himself bracing to hear her voice. But it was never her. He wished he could call her up and apologize but.. he didn't have her number. All he had was Craig's address in New York and the last thing he wanted to do was show up there, asking for Lorelai. He _could_ ask Sookie, but then it would be all over town by Thursday. Luke sighed and flopped down on his bed. ****************************** ANgsty, isn't it? Heh, i try to be funy.. but then it sounds too forced, so i just made it angsty.. well, happy endings are never as happy unless there's some angst beforehand.. so brace yourself for more angst! teeheheh -Ggirl 


	9. I Don't Know How to Say Goodbye To You

7:25 PM, Thursday  
Gilmore house Lorelai had her head in her hands when Rory walked in. "Hey, mom... is everything okay?" "Yeah, I'm just confused about everything.. my life is more confusing than Alias," Lorelai sighed and looked up at her daughter. "Um, nothing is as confusing as Alias." "Okay, sorry, nothing is as confusing as Alias.. Maybe more on the level of Cher's stylist." "OOoo, I get you now. Wanna get coffee?" Rory asked and motioned towards the front door. "I can't," Lorelai said in a muffled voice. "I had a fight with Luke today." Rory groaned. "Again?" "This time it was serious. It was World War III. It was Jan gets a boob job and meets Marcia, Chandler meets Janice, Flander meets the Devil," Lorelai sighed and looked at her daughter. "I was Holyfield and he was Tyson. And he ate my ear." "Okay, well...," Rory said and fidgeted with her hands. "What's up?" Lorelai asked. "Huh?" Rory said looking at her mom nervously. "You're fidgeting. You rarely fidget. Something is up." "I can't fidget? I am not allowed to fidget? Maybe I just feel like fidgetting." Lorelai sighed. "We just said too many fidgets in one minute. That word is now officially expired for the night," Lorelai said and put her head back down. Rory sighed. "Okay, I have good news, but I don't want to tell you because you're..." "Grieving? Angered? Furious??" "Well, grieving." "But I'm not grieving. I'm angry," Lorelai said in an exasperated tone. "And do you know why I'm angry?" "Why?" "Because, Luke," She practically sneered the last word. Rory was taken back by her mom's aggressive tone as she said 'Luke'. ".. just told me that Craig is only out to get my body." Rory's eyes widened. "What? Luke said that?" "Yes, Luke, coffee-man, ex-nice man, Luke," Lorelai said and folded her arms across her chest. "Can you believe it?" Rory raised her eyebrows. "Wow, that's not like Luke at all. He wouldn't say that. Are you sure it wasn't Taylor? Or Ms. Patty?" "He was definitely flannel-clad." "Okay, Luke it was." Rory sighed. "I can't believe he would say that." Lorelai frowned. "You're telling me... but anways, don't let me take away from your joy, dear daughter. Do share your news, and perhaps mommy will be able to cheer up a little." "Um.. So in April, I applied for this internship and I didn't think I'd get it because it's for the New York Times.. And that's very prestigious. I mean, the Times, it's like one of the best newspapers in the world! And there are so many people in the world.. What was it on last count? Ten billion? And how many of those people want to work for the Times? Probably a lot.. Probably like one billion..." Rory waved her arms around. "You got the internship," Lorelai interrupted her daughter's rambling and reached up to hug her. "I'm proud of you. Congrats." "Thanks," Rory said, her face aglow. "I can't believe I got it!" Lorelai sat back in her chair. "If I was up to it, I'd celebrate, but I think it would better if you and Jess did something special. I'd probably just mope anyways." "Nah," Rory said and pushed her mom back down in the chair. "I think I'd rather hang with you and we can order Chinese. We'll think over this situation over a chicken fest." "Thanks." Lorelai said gratefully. She sighed. "Sounds good. I could use the company. The Times is lucky to have you, oh wise one." Rory pat her mom sympathetically on the head and walked over to counter to find a menu for Chow's Kitchen. "Wait.. The New York Times?" Lorelai suddenly said. "Like the Times in New York?" Rory nodded. "That's generally what it's called." "In New York City, New York?" "I think you're onto something," Rory said, nodding thoughtfully. "I'm trying to be serious here! You have to go to New York???" Rory sighed. "Yup." "For how long?" "Two months," Rory said sheepishly. "Wow," Lorelai said and looked around the room. "Two months.." "I won't go if you don't want me to," Rory said quickly. "Rory, don't be silly! This is an opportunity that comes once in a lifetime! .. Go. I want you to go to New York and be this amazing intern.. And learn tons and later you'll go back to become ruler of the New York Times Empire and my face will be pasted on every front page of the Times as the amazing woman who raised the dictator of the newspaper world." Rory smiled. "Mom, you're crazy." "Crazy/beautiful," Lorelai said and smiled weakly at her daughter. "Okay, bad pop reference, but it's because my mind can't handle all this jazz about Luke and this exciting news about you at the same time. Speaking of New York.. I got a job offer today." "Really?!" "Yup. They're opened a new Hilton Hotel on Fifth Avenue." "Wow. They want you to work there?" "Executive manager. The whole hotel. They want me to run the entire thing," Lorelai said shaking her head. "Me." She pointed to herself. "I can't even keep my house clean." She wearily looked around the cluttered kitchen. "Mom! That's amazing! That's an awesome opportunity for you!" Rory said hugging her mom. "Congratulations!" "Yeah," Lorelai replied. "But I turned it down." "What?" Rory said shocked. "Why?" "It's not.. here. I don't want to leave Star's Hollow," Lorelai said. "Mom..," Rory said with a serious look on her face. "Call them." She handed her mom the phone. Lorelai sighed. "I don't want it. It's too big of a job, and it's too far from here. I can't exactly commute, you know." "Ask them if you could take it on a trial basis. Say..," Rory said, thinking rapidly. "Two months?" Lorelai asked. "Yes! Two months," Rory replied smiling. "We could get an apartment together! It'll be so much fun! And you could see Craig more often..." Lorelai brightened at the thought of Craig and took the phone from her. "The Times has no idea who's coming, do they? They better have the red carpet rolling, babe." *************************** A week later  
11:23 AM, Thursday  
Gilmore House "Mom, you're going to be gone for two months, not two seasons of M.A.S.H. reruns," Rory said, exasperated. "You're taking the whole closet, aren't you?" Lorelai looked at her sternly. "You never know when you need rain boots." She threw the rain boots into a duffel. "Or pink shoes." Lorelai threw the pink sneakers into the bag. Rory took out the rain boots. "You never wear these." She pulled the pink sneakers out of the bag. "You said these make your feet look like flamingo feet." "What if flamingo feet are in this season? Everyone knows that New Yorkers know about trends before anyone else... I'll be ostracized because I don't have flamingo feet." Lorelai furrowed her brow. "They'll be like, 'Look, there was goes the woman without flamingo feet! Point and laugh at her. It'll be Mock Fest '04!'" Rory gaped at her. "Huh." "What if Craig failed to mention that New Yorkers have flamingo feet!?" "I saw Bloomberg on television last week. He has normal feet." "And what were you doing watching that man's feet? You have a feet fetish? Dirty!" Rory rolled her eyes. "Says the woman who wants flamingo feet." "Do you know that saying 'Rome wasn't built in a day'?" Lorelai asked. "Uh huh." "Well, maybe it wasn't built in a day.. But it was probably destroyed in a day," Lorelai said. "And after it was destroyed, you think people remembered the Italians who made.. uh... scientific doo-hickeys? Today, are they famous for their little scientific thingamabobs? Nope, their fashion, on the other hand, is what sets them on the map. When Rome fell, all they wanted to know was, 'What were they wearing? Togas? Pink shoes? Or rain boots?'" "Historians would kill to have your vast knowledge of Rome," Rory said sarcastically. She shook her head. "You're insane. I'm going to put these shoes back in before you kill me." Lorelai nodded. "Good choice, my friend. As we all know, rain boots can be potentially dangerous weapons of mass murder." Lorelai looked thoughtful. "Speaking of togas..." "Oh God..," Rory said, as she watched her mom looking at the white bed sheets in the back of the closet. *************************** 3:24 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House The last few days had been so hectic, Lorelai had barely had a chance to sit down. Finding an apartment, asking Mia (gently) if she could take a hiatus from her job at the inn... But she was ecstatic about the whole situation. It was going to be a great experience. Lorelai sighed and flopped down on the sofa. "Dependable old house, I will miss you." Lorelai hung her legs over the edge of the sofa. She couldn't believe she was going to leave her house for two months. She was going to miss Star's Hollow. And even though she denied it outwardly to everyone she knew, she was going to miss a certain coffee-making man, as well. Luke and she had yet to make up after their fight. It had already been a week since their encounter, but both were too stubborn to apologize. Lorelai was too angry at him for dissing Craig and Luke was just mad, period. From what she heard, he didn't want to talk to her either. It had been a hard, long, long week trying to survive without Luke's coffee, but she had made it. And her plan was to find a coffee place with ambrosia just as good as his when she arrived in New York. NYC, the capital of coffeehouses; she had to find a great place. There was probably great coffee places all over the city, along with shops and bakeries and delis.. Mmmm.. cake. Rory had finished packing and went to go meet Jess for her last night in Star's Hollow. Jess had been, understandably, upset when he heard about Rory's internship. After all, the summer was all they had. However, NYC was his domain and he had promised to come visit. Luke on the other hand.. She was still seething about the entire 'Craig is a player' thing and well, she tried to think positively about the whole situation. Maybe a little off-time from Luke would be good. She was too dependent on him anyways. Lorelai depended on him for food, to fix her stuff, to comfort her when she was upset... She sighed. They had been friends for years and she couldn't remember a time when they had fought so violently. Sure, they had had that fight over Jess when Rory got hurt in the car accident, but that had blown over. Sadly enough, this one looked like it wasn't going to for a long time. Losing a friend was hard. *************************** 3:35 PM, Friday  
Luke's Diner Luke came out from behind the counter and sat down at one of the swiveling stools. Jess had left with Rory a bit before and the diner was empty. And as much as he hated to admit it, it felt even emptier than usual without Lorelai. He had wanted to protect her, but it came out totally wrong. "Craig just wants to get you into his bed?" Luke said out loud and laughed at himself. "What the hell was I thinking??" Had he honestly thought that saying it like that would bring her to her senses? This had been the only thing on his mind for the last couple of days. Lorelai and what a big jerk he had been to her. Maybe Craig had changed and, well, Craig was the one who made her happy. What could he do about? Apparently what he could do was go and make a fool of himself. And lose her friendship. When Luke had heard about her moving to New York City, he had almost collapsed. Lorelai leaving? It was inconceivable. Who knew it would come down to this? He had struggled with his feelings, wanting to go over there and beg her to stay. But he held himself back, because he knew she wouldn't want to see him. She wouldn't talk to him anyways. *************************** 3:45 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House 'He didn't even try to apologize.' Lorelai sighed as she flipped through the channels. Nothing good was on. She flicked the television off. If he had come and tried to say sorry, she would have forgiven him. She could be just as stubborn as he was. *************************** 7:54 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House "Hey!" Lorelai called out across the room and a scurrying Sookie. "Sookie! Calm down!!" Sookie looked at her with a wide-eyed expression. "The almond cake is in the oven and the little hot dog thingies are in the fridge and I still have to..." "Honey," Lorelai said, grabbing Sookie's arm. "Calm down, it's just my going away party, nothing big..." "Aww, Lorelai! I'm gonna miss you so much!" Sookie said, her eyes tearing. Lorelai giggled. "Sookie, New York's only like 2 hours away." "A lot can happen in two months." Sookie shook her head sadly. "And you and Luke..." "Don't even start," Lorelai interrupted. "Tonight's supposed to be a party, I don't want to talk about it.." Lorelai wagged a finger at her and started to walk away. "I invited him." Lorelai turned back around. "What?" "This is Star's Hollow, he would have heard about it eventually anyways," Sookie said. "So?? We're in a fight, this is my party.. you're not supposed to invite him! I told you how mean he was to Craig!" Lorelai yelled. "Calm down, hon," Sookie said reassuringly. "If he does come, this could your chance to make up with him." "I have nothing to say to him." Lorelai folded her arms across her chest. "He's the one who needs to apologize." Sookie sighed. "We'll see what happens." *************************** 8:30 PM, Friday  
Gilmore House The party was pumping, the stereo blaring her favorite 80's rock, the food was a success (thanks to Sookie, of course).. But Lorelai didn't really feel like joining in on the fun. She grabbed a can of coke and stepped outside into the breezy June air. Breathing in deeply, she sat down on the front steps and watched the sunset. Luke hadn't come. But that's what she wanted, right? Lorelai was confused by her feelings.. she was angry at him.. yet she wanted to see him... Would she leave for two months without saying goodbye? *************************** AHh i love Luke and Lorelai... sigh.. btw, i have this great chapter written for the future.. I'm dying to put it up.. but it's for later, later... so i have to put other stuff in between hehe.. i should never write chapters ahead of time.. cuz i get super excited and just rush through the in-between chapters and they come out all stinky... ah well, we'll see hehe hope u're enjoying this... -Ggirl 


	10. I was wrong

Hola~ awww.. thanks so much for your reviews!! =) -Ggirl ***************************** _About 2 months later_ Late August  
7:48 AM, Monday  
Helga's Lorelai walked into Helga's, the last place on Rory's and her list. 'Hope this is the place,' Lorelai thought as she entered the brightly lit bagel shop. "Welcome!" A booming voice greeted her as she stepped up to the counter. She didn't see anyone around her. "Uh.. hi," Lorelai said, her eyes looking from side to side. Where was the voice coming from? "I Helga! I make coffee!" A large woman wearing a big flowery housecoat came from the kitchen. "Oh!" Lorelai smiled at the bubbly woman. "Coffee. Great. Can I get a large?" She liked the place already. After all, 'Helga' had announced the moment she came in that she made coffee. "You know, coffee bad," Helga said, leaning over the counter. "But I sell." The woman turned around and got a large Styrofoam cup. "This size?" "Yeah, thanks," Lorelai said, digging around in her purse for her wallet. Luke-esque. The woman had just mentioned that coffee was bad for her, but she still gave it to her. "You know," Helga suddenly said, looking straight into Lorelai's eyes. "How old you? Thirty?" "Sure, why not," Lorelai said, smiling. Let the woman think she was younger than she really was. "When I your age, I had big lump on my left shoulder." She jabbed a finger into Lorelai's shoulder. Lorelai grimaced from the pain. "Very, very, very big lump." "Ahh," Lorelai said, nodding painfully. "That big, huh." The woman nodded. "Very big. And I go to doctor. And doctor look at lump and say, 'Oy! That a big lump.'" Lorelai nodded, wondering if she was out of her mind, or if the woman was. She had just started liking the place. She had spoken too soon. "And I say, 'Oy! How I fix?'. Doctor look at me and say, we have to do bopsy." Lorelai was confused. "Bopsy?" "Bopsy." "The bunny?" Lorelai joked. "What bunny?" The woman leaned against the counter. "Where bunny?" "Huh?" Lorelai asked, furrowing her brow. "I like bunny. You skin and cook in little bit olive oil," The woman said, making waving motions in the air. Lorelai's eyes widened. "So your lump," She interrupted. "Oy, yes, big lump on shoulder. And I was very, very, very.. Uh.. How I say? Very...," The woman looked at Lorelai. "You know?" Lorelai had no clue. She nodded. "Yes, very, very.." "Yes! Exactly! You know!" The woman beamed and jabbed another finger, this time in Lorelai's gut. Lorelai grimaced. "You too skinny. I feed you rabbit! Come back to store one day, I cook best in fae-mily!" The woman said showing her tooth-less smile. "And you eat rabbit.. You skin and cook in little bit olive oil.."Lorelai started to back away. "Yes, I love rabbit.. I uh...have to go to work.." "Very big lump. Do bopsy. And lump go away! Then I marry," The woman continued to talk to Lorelai, even as she was slowly backing up towards the door. "Marry good boy. You know nice, good boy who make you happy? Maybe even marry if you have big lump?" 'Luke,' Lorelai immediately thought. 'No, Craig. What am I thinking? Luke?!' "Nice to meet you!" Lorelai called out and spun around. "You forget coffee!" The woman called out to her as Lorelai left the store. Helga looked at the coffee cup that she held. "Oy, coffee bad anyways." ***************************** 7:58 AM, Monday  
New York City "Rory, we can't go to Helga's," Lorelai whined into her cell phone. "What? But that was our last place," Rory said sadly. "Well, we only have a week left in our two months," Lorelai said. "I can't believe we never found a good coffee place. We raked the New York City area with a fine comb." "Luke's is unrivaled," Rory replied. Lorelai got uncomfortable at the Rory's mention of Luke. "I guess." "Mom," Rory suddenly said, clutching her bag tightly as she stepped into the office "Yeah?" Lorelai replied, turning sideways to let a man pass her. "You two are gonna make up once you go back to Star's Hollow right?" "Rory..," Lorelai sighed. "I don't know." "It's been almost two months," Rory said. "I know." "You don't miss him?" Lorelai hesitated. "His coffee," She admitted. "And nothing else," Rory stated. Lorelai was quiet. "Oh, it's Mr. Hilton, I have to go, hon!" She quickly turned off the cell phone. Rory just smiled as she shut off her phone. ***************************** 7:37 PM, Monday  
Craig's Apartment Her day at the hotel hadn't been so bad, because the DAR dictator had insisted on doing everything with poor Mr. Hilton, instead of her. Lorelai would usually be insulted by the woman's haughtiness, but heck, if it meant she didn't have to spend time with the woman, the hell with pride. 'What a nice day,' She thought happily as she walked into Craig's apartment building. They had a date tonight, and so she had decided to just drop by right after work. "I have a key under the doormat," Craig had said over the phone. "And I think there's some leftover cheesecake in the fridge." "I'll see you later," Lorelai had said. She took the elevator up to the penthouse. Lorelai smiled as she stepped off the elevator and into the hallway where his penthouse was. She reached under the doormat. 'Bingo!' She thought as her hand hit something solid. She unlocked the door and walked into the apartment, which smelled like pasta. It smelled really good. 'Craig must have gotten home early. And wow, he was successful with the cooking thing this time,' She thought and smiled. She threw her coat on the leather couch and started towards the kitchen. "Hey, Marth-." Lorelai stopped in her tracks. The woman at the stove was not Craig. Oh, no, she was DEFINITELY not Craig. She was pretty: blonde, petite, and dressed very fashionably in a cashmere sweater and tight jeans. She just stared at Lorelai, her spoon stopped in midair while stirring. "Oh, hi," the woman said, surprised. "I'm..." "Um," Lorelai interrupted. "I.. I gotta go..." She ran out of the kitchen, grabbed her jacket, and dashed out the front door. Brushing away her tears away, she scolded herself for not believing in Luke. 'He was right,' She thought angrily. 'I've been so stupid!' Lorelai angrily pressed the elevator button, but it wasn't coming fast enough. Lorelai dashed towards the stairs. 'I have to get out of here.' She ran down the stairs, and just as she was going between the 2nd and 3rd floors, she bumped into someone. "Lorelai?" Lorelai looked up to see Craig. "You..," Lorelai said angrily, tears flowing down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" Craig asked, worried. He reached up to brush her tears away. "Was it the DAR woman again?" She slapped his hand away, to his shock. "Why? Are you sleeping with her too?" "What?!" Craig asked, shocked. "What are you talking bout?" "Well," Lorelai said furiously. "When you go upstairs, you'll see what I'm talking about." With that, she pushed past him and ran down the stairs. "I can't believe you did this to me!" She yelled at him. "Lorelai!" He called after her. "I don't understand..." Lorelai blindly ran through the lobby of the apartment building embarrassed by her tears and by her stupidity. 'I'm so stupid!' She thought angrily. She needed to talk to someone. She needed to see Luke. ***************************** 10:34 PM, Monday  
Star's Hollow When Lorelai looked out the window, she saw that it was raining very heavily. 'Great,' She thought. Lorelai hadn't thought of bringing an umbrella. Then again, she hadn't exactly planned this trip either. The bus came to a stop and the passengers all started to get up. They were all bunched up in the little aisle so Lorelai decided to wait until the rest of the passengers left. After most of the others got off the bus, Lorelai stood up from her seat and buttoned her coat. She grabbed her bag and walked off the bus, mumbling a "Thanks." over her shoulder at the bus driver. The rain was coming down harder than she had thought it would be and it was pelting her in the face. Lorelai dashed across the middle of town, trying to shield her head from the rain as she ran. As she approached the familiar diner, her confidence faltered. She slowed down, and her arms hung weakly at her sides, her arms slowly swinging the bag she clutched. The rain was pouring down her face ('Probably messing up my makeup,' she thought). She was .. so scared to go in. But why? This was just Luke right? Or at least, that's what she had been telling herself for the past few weeks. ***************************** 10:36 PM, Monday   
Luke's Diner "Burgers!" Caesar called out from the kitchen. Luke grabbed the plates from the window and rushed over to the table to deliver them. Setting the dishes down in front of the respective customers, he muttered, "Enjoy." and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. A late night bus had just come in so Luke's was full of late night diners. The rush was intense. 'It's just not the same without Lorelai though,' He thought nostalgically. She would always be there at the busiest of nights, helping him or just bothering him. Flashing one of her distracting smiles, Lorelai would breeze into the diner wearing a 'Hot Mama' shirt and take orders in that crazy diner language that she had probably made up herself. God, he missed her. Luke looked out the window. It was pouring outside. 'Looks like what I feel inside,' He thought dryly. "Hey, Daydreamer!" Kirk called out from his usual corner table. "Do you have any more Equals?! I need a lot!!" Luke groaned at the sound of Kirk's voice. "Don't have a fit, Mariah Carey," He grumbled and grabbed some Equals from the counter. As he approached Kirk's table, he looked out the window again. A familiar face looked back at him. Lorelai. Luke stared back at her, standing in the rain. Her clothes were totally soaked through and her lower lip was quivering. He threw the Equals in Kirk's table and ran out the door. "Heyy!!!" Kirk yelled after him as some of them dropped into his soup. ***************************** 10:37 PM, Monday  
In front of Luke's "Lorelai," He breathed, the rain pelting his face. Luke held up a hand to shield his face from the rain. "What are you doing here?" "I came to see you," She said quietly. "I..." "Come inside," He yelled. "It's raining too hard." It was hard to hear her over the downpour. "I just wanted to say one thing," Lorelai said. Her eyes were sad, and it hurt Luke to see her like this. His heart ached for her. He wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her. "Can we go over there?" She pointed to an area a little ways down the road. Most of the stores in town closed early so that area was pretty dark. "I don't really want to see Taylor and them right now...," She trailed off. Luke nodded and they walked over. "What's wrong?" He asked. He wiped away some of the water that was running down his face. "Are you sure you don't want to go back to the diner? It's raining pretty hard.. I could get you coffee and .. " Lorelai shook her head slowly. "I only wanted to say.." He couldn't really hear her over the rain. "What?" Lorelai looked at him, an intense look in her eyes. She took a step closer to him, until he could just barely feel her shivering against him. He resisted the urge to brush away the wet strands of hair that kept falling into her face. "I missed you." The three words hit him in the face harder than the pelting rain. "What?" Did he just hear her correctly? She _missed_ him? The sound of her voice was so sad and sincere.. And so full of longing and remorse. "And.. I'm sorry about everything," Lorelai looked so wistful. "No, it was my fault," Luke argued. "No, it wasn't." Lorelai hung her head sadly. An uncomfortable silence befell them. Luke willed himself to say something. "I missed you too," Luke said awkwardly. 'Oh the hell with it!' He grabbed her and hugged her to him. She was startled by his sudden move and her arms hung weakly by her side. But she slowly recovered from the initial shock and soon found herself reveling in the warmth of his arms. She brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. "A lot," He suddenly whispered into her hair. Lorelai was startled by his gentle words. She pulled away and looked at him. "Luke, I..," She started. She was cut off by his lips pressing against hers. *********************************** Next chapter: To New York.. or not to New York? How does Lorelai react to the kiss? Who was that woman? 


	11. One Way Ticket

Aww.. you guys are too sweet.. blah, I probably should edit.. but i never do.. so please excuse my grammatical/spelling mistakes... And thanks for R/R! -Ggirl **************************** 10:39 PM, Monday  
Outside of Luke's Diner Lorelai's lips were soft and she smelled like coffee and her hair smelled like apple shampoo. Luke was just overwhelmed by her scent and touch. He could hardly believe this was really happening. 'Don't wake up,' Luke told himself. He was kissing Lorelai Gilmore and she was making little breathy moaning sounds. His hands were running up and down the side of her body, touching her hair and the small of her back. His right hand was on the back of her head, tangled in her wet hair. His left found its way to her hand, and entwined with hers. If he was dreaming... well, he hoped he would never wake up. He willed himself not to wake up. She suddenly whimpered and pulled away. 'Damn it,' He thought as he pulled away, breathing heavily. "Oh my God," She said, her eyes open wide. "I.." "I'm sorry," Luke said at the same time. "I didn't mean.." "I.. I can't be here right now," Lorelai said and started to back away from him. "I.." Luke tried to keep his face neutral as she slowly backed away from him. Lorelai looked at him with a 'deer-in-the-headlights' type of look as she started to understand what had just happened. She had kissed Luke, not as friend, but as something much more. And she had felt something. She felt a tinge, she felt an ache, and she was scared by what it all meant. So she did what she usually did when she got scared. She ran. "Lorelai!" He called after her. But she didn't hear him and his voice was lost in the sound of the pounding rain. Luke was about to run after her when he heard Caesar yelling at him from the doorway. "Luke! I need your help!" Luke took one last look into the direction Lorelai had run and then turned back to the diner. **************************** 10:41 PM, Monday  
Gilmore House A dripping Lorelai ran onto the porch of her house. She looked for the hidden key and opened the front door. Lorelai shrugged off her soaked coat and placed it to dry on the porch. Once inside the house, she meticulously stripped off the rest of her clothes and hung them in the kitchen. Shivering, she ran to the bathroom. Ten minutes later, she was in the showering, warming up under the blissful hot water. Steam swirled around her and she finally felt herself calming down. Then she remembered. Lorelai had kissed Luke. 'What have I done?' She thought nervously. Lorelai kissed Luke. Luke kissed Lorelai. 'Calm down, calm down,' She told herself. 'It was the rain.. Must have been the rain. The rain pouring everywhere, clogging up my ears, the arteries to my brain..' Lorelai shook her head. 'No, no, it wasn't the rain. What was it??' **************************** 10:49 PM, Monday  
Gilmore House 'Okay, what I need to do is go back to New York,' Lorelai thought as she stepped out of the shower. 'I still have a week left on the job, so I need to settle that..' She frowned. She still wasn't sure if she wanted to keep going with the New York job or come back to Star's Hollow. Lorelai brushed the thought out of her mind. She could think about that later. 'And Craig,' She thought. Lorelai got a hollow feeling in her stomach. She closed her eyes but the tears still managed to squeeze out. Craig hurt her. God, she was pissed at him. She didn't want to speak with him, let alone talk to him. But she had to. 'I have to sit down with him and have a civil talk,' She thought and sighed deeply. 'He better have a good explanation.' Rubbing her head with a towel, Lorelai walked into her room and flung open the closet. 'Nice sensible Rory,' She thought, smiling slightly. Her level-headed daughter had managed to convince her mom to leave some of the closet at home, so she had clothes to wear. 'Speaking of Rory,' Lorelai thought as she rummaged through the closet. 'Why didn't I just go to her?' She bit her lip and stopped moving as she thought about this. 'Why did I run to Luke?' **************************** 11:19 PM, Monday  
Luke's Diner "Are you done back there?" Luke called out to Caesar as he hastily wiped down the front counter. He really needed to talk to Lorelai. "Yeah, it's clean," Caesar called back. "Great, I'm going out, just lock the door, okay? Or actually, ask Jess to do it when he comes in from Walmart," Luke called over his shoulder. "Yeah, sure." Luke hurriedly threw on his jacket and ran outside into the rain. **************************** 11:21 PM, Monday  
Star's Hollow Bus Station "Do you have any buses to New York?" Lorelai asked the clerk. "We have one leaving in about 2 minutes," The clerk replied, bored. "I'd like to buy a ticket," Lorelai said, taking her wallet out her bag. "Okay," the clerk answered and slowly moved over to the computer. "One way?" Lorelai thought for a second. "Yeah," She replied and pulled out her credit card. "One way." **************************** 11:22 PM, Monday  
Gilmore House Luke jumped up onto the porch, relieved to have a roof over his head. The rain seemed to falling harder than before. "Lorelai?" He called out. The house was dark and it looked like no one was inside. There was a note stuck on the door. Luke sighed, knowing that she had been there but already left, and then ripped the note off the door. _Luke, Hi. Sorry for leaving this way, but I need time to think. I'll call you. Lorelai_ Luke sighed deeply and stuffed the note in his pocket. **************************** 11:35 PM, Monday  
Somewhere in Connecticut Lorelai leaned her head on the window, feeling the vibrations of the engine against her forehead. The shaking caused her pain, but right now, she felt like she should be punished. She had left Luke hanging. Plus, she had kissed another man. Sure, Craig had cheated on her, but that didn't mean she could turn around and make out with his high school best friend. Damn, she was just bad as Craig. Why had she kissed him back? No, _why_ had she enjoyed it? She admitted it. The kiss made her _feel_. It made her feel happy and sad at the same time. Pain and Love. Anger and Happiness. Confusion and clarity. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. It had just felt so damn _right_. **************************** 1:45 AM, Tuesday  
Lorelai's and Rory's apartment "Lorelai!" Craig stood up from the couch as she walked into the apartment. "Go away," Lorelai said angrily. "I'm not talking to you." "I don't understand..," Craig said, a look of confusion on his face. "I don't get why you're mad at me." "What?" Lorelai turned around to face him. "You don't understand why I'm mad at you? Perhaps, it's the fact that I came to your apartment to see you, but instead, saw another woman standing at the stove, slaving over some meal she made for you so afterwards, she.." "She's my sister." "What?" Lorelai said, her jaw dropping. "Your sister?" She squeaked. "Jane," Craig said smiling. "Jane's my sister. She told me how you reacted.. Oh, it all makes sense now," He said slapping himself on the forehead. "You thought I was having an affair!" He laughed. "Aw, Lorelai." Craig hugged her. "I was so worried about you. And by the way, the DAR woman broke up with last night." Lorelai managed a small, forced giggle. She stood there, shell-shocked. She was the one who had cheated on Craig. She had kissed Luke. **************************** 2:03 AM, Tuesday  
Lorelai's and Rory's apartment "Mom!" Rory groaned. "I was sooo worried." Craig had gone home and Lorelai and Rory were unwinding on the couch over ice cream. Lorelai nodded, tired from the day's events. "I'm sorry, I should have called." "What happened?" "I don't know.. just.. Maybe it's the stress or something. I went to Craig's apartment and there was this other girl there," Lorelai said and cracked open a gallon of Mint Chocolate chip. "I just thought, 'OMG, he's cheating on me.'" Rory smiled slightly. "I don't think Craig would do that." "No, he wouldn't." Lorelai cleanly licked off her spoon. "I see that now." "I think he really likes you a lot," Rory replied and took the carton from her mom. "Yeah, he does," Lorelai thought wistfully. 'I kissed Luke. Oh my gosh.' "What's wrong?" Rory asked, concerned. Lorelai had been staring into space. "Huh?" Lorelai looked into her daughter's eyes. "Something happened, didn't it? When you went back home..," Rory said and put the ice cream down on the coffee table. "Luke?" 'Devil-child,' Lorelai thought as Rory pinpointed it right away. "Um.. No," Lorelai lied, trying to keep her face neutral. "Did you apologize?" Rory asked. "Yes, actually I did apologize." Lorelai nodded. "Good," Rory said and got up from the couch. She stretched and yawned. "I have to go to sleep. Busy morning tomorrow at the Times." "Okay," Lorelai replied. "I think I'm just gonna schmooze here for a little while." "Okay," Rory said and kissed her mom on the cheek. "GOod night." Lorelai didn't hear her. She was staring out into the New York City skyline, wondering what she was going to do about Luke. **************************** 8:04 AM, Friday  
Hilton Hotel "Lorelai," Mr. Hilton called out to her as she walked into the hotel. "Can I see you for a minute?" "Sure," Lorelai replied, taking a sip of her coffee. 'God, just as bad as the others.' She grimaced and tossed the cup in a garbage can. "What's up?" Mr. Hilton smiled. "Can we speak somewhere more private?" "Yeah, um.. I think my office is empty. Maryanne's coming in a little late today." "Okay, good." They walked into the darkened office together. Lorelai flicked on the lights and put her stuff down on the table. "So what can I help you with?" "Well," Mr. Hilton started. "Today is the last day of the two months." "Oh," Lorelai replied. "It is." "Lorelai, I have enjoyed having you here immensely. I've had no major complaints, the place is looking lovely, and the customers are just overflowing with comments about you." Mr. Hilton sighed. "I really don't want to see you go." "I'll stay." "Really?" Mr. Hilton perked up. "You're staying?" "Uh," Lorelai was shocked with herself. Did she just say that she was going to stay? "Um.. Yeah." "Oh, thank god!" Mr. Hilton smiled brightly. "I'm so glad, Lorelai. You'll be here for the DAR convention also." **************************** 8:45 PM, Friday  
Lorelai and Rory's apartment "You're staying???" Lorelai nodded slowly. "Wow." Rory shook her head. "Wow. You're leaving Star's Hollow for real." "I guess so," Lorelai replied slowly. "Are you going to sell the house?" Rory asked wistfully. "I mean, our first house.." "Yeah, I know," Lorelai replied, a serious look on her face. "Why the sudden decision to stay?" "I don't know." Lorelai got up from the couch and started to pace back and forth. "I mean, when I walked into the office this morning, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. And then Mr. Hilton came and asked and suddenly I'm all like 'Sure, I'd love to stay'. But I don't know why." She shook her head. "It just came out." Rory looked thoughtful. "Something happened that night." "What night?" Lorelai asked nonchalantly. She knew exactly what night Rory was talking about. "That night you went back to Star's Hollow," Rory said slowly, not wanting to scare or upset her mom. "What happened?" Lorelai sighed. "Maybe I just want a change of environment." She shrugged. "I like New York." "Mom," Rory said and stood up to face Lorelai. "You don't like New York. You said so yourself yesterday, as you downed a cup of coffee from the corner deli. I believe your exact words were: 'Two gazillion people but no decent coffee? No wonder cab drivers all have major road rage!' Then you angrily threw the cup across the sidewalk and hit poor Mr. Larabee on the forehead." "Oh, yes," Lorelai replied "How is he, by the way?" Rory ignored her question. "What happened?" "Nothing," Lorelai muttered. "Mommmm!" "We kissed." Rory's eyes widened. "Luke?" "No, Taylor," Lorelai replied. "Oh, and Kirk too." "Wow." "Yeah, wow." "Luke, Taylor, and Kirk in one night. Must have been exciting for you." "Unbelievable," Lorelai said and sat down on the couch. 'Most unbelievably wonderful kiss ever,' She thought sadly thinking back. Rory looked at Lorelai with a serious look on her face. "What?" Lorelai asked. "Don't run away from him," Rory said. Then she walked out of the room, leaving Lorelai alone to think. **************************** And the angst-fest continues.. Damn, Moswen, you're good.. haha good guess, that was what i had planned.. x) I just gotta finish up some details for ch. 12, it'll be up mucho soon! hehe Thanks again for reading! btw, Dawnmeister, whatever happened to "Rock and a Hard place"? Update soon!! hehe Everyone write Javajunkie, we need moooreee So i have more to read! -Ggirl 


	12. Time After Time

I always forget to include shoutouts.. Hehe I know some people find them distracting.. Sorry, but I have had a lot of people review and say some really nice things, so I just want to shout back at you: Luke_Lorelai_Ash: Thanks so much for your reviews! =) I hope the update was fast enough =P ren (Lairewen@aol.com): I'm an Alias LOVER! I LOVE Vaughn! .. Hehe and I think Jennifer Garner is like the greatest actress ever…so I'm like always torn between alias and GG.. Which one do I love more?? Ahhh, decisions, decisions… Jacy925: haha good guess.. Maybe Luke will beat up someone later.. Ahh I duno hehe masscoffee: hehe another good guess, but I wanted to go for another main character.. Jane will be interesting to develop as a character.. Kris Wright: Aww, thanks, you're too sweet! Everyone I have failed to mention here because I have a short-term memory, thanks so much for your reviews! =) Now with the story.. ****************************** **Early September**  
7:45 PM, Thursday  
Some ice cream parlor "I don't know if I should re-rent the place, or just move to a whole new place altogether," Lorelai said and frowned. She took a sip of her ice cream soda. "Rory's going back to college, so I don't really need all those rooms." She cocked her head. "Although, it would make for great closet space." Craig looked at her thoughtfully. "Why don't you move in with me?" Lorelai stopped drinking and looked up at him. "You?" She squeaked. "Yeah, me," Craig smiled and put down his glass. He leaned across the table and looked left and right. Then he gave her a sly look. "You and me, we could have a lot of fun together." "Sounds potentially dirty," Lorelai said giving him a seductive look. "If you want it to be," Craig said, smiling. He sat back in his chair. "I have a lot of room, and I think.. we've been together for a while now…" Lorelai smiled and took his hand. "I'd love to." Craig's face broke into a huge smile and he leaned across the table to kiss her. "Perfect." ****************************** 9:48 PM, Thursday  
Luke's Diner Luke looked up as someone burst through the door. "Sookie?" Gasping for air, Sookie collapsed on one of the stools. "Uh," Luke said, staring at her. "Do you need water?" Sookie nodded vigorously and put her head down on the counter top. Luke placed a glass of ice water in front of her and she greedily gulped it down. "Are you okay?" She nodded and waved her hand around in the air, as if to attract more oxygen to herself. "Luke…," she gasped. "Lorelai…" "What?!" Luke exclaimed, his eyes widening. "What happened to her?" Images of car accidents, murders, and kidnappings flashed through his head. "She's not coming back," Sookie managed to say. "What do you mean?" Luke tried to calm himself. "Not coming back…?" "She took the job in New York." Sookie took another sip of water. "She what?" Luke's face fell. He closed his eyes, and swallowed hard. 'That night.. Did that mean nothing to her?' Every night since she had gone back, he had trouble falling asleep. All he could think about was her scent, her touch, her pained expression as she walked away from him… again. "I came home late from work and she left a message on my answering machine," Sookie said, finally catching her breath. "Wow, I'm out of shape." Luke sighed deeply. 'Not coming back….' ****************************** **Two weeks later**  
10:34 AM, Saturday  
Craig's Apartment Lorelai picked a random CD from Craig's wall of Cds and popped it into the stereo. 'Cyndi Lauper,' She read off the cover. That was someone she hadn't listened to in a while. She actually kind of found Cyndi annoying when she was growing up in the 80's. But her music was dance-y pop, which was exactly what she needed while organizing her stuff. _Lying in my bed I hear the clock tick, And think of you Caught up in circles Confusion is nothing new Flashback--warm nights-- Almost left behind Suitcase of memories, Time after--_ Lorelai sat still in front of the open cardboard box and thought back to that night. _His hand in her hair; her wet hair twisted in between his fingers; his hand entwined with hers; her hand touching his back, rubbing the wet flannel; she pulls away from him; his eyes are clouded; she runs_ 'What is love?' She thought, looking up into the air. Craig was perfect for her in almost every sense: they had the same tastes. They loved the same jokes, same music, and same television shows and movies. Eating out with him usually meant that they were eating junk, which she loved. He could always make her laugh. Was that love? But Luke. Luke.. She couldn't describe in words what she felt about him. He was always there when she needed him, always standing beside when she needed to cry, or whine, or drink coffee. For the longest time, he had been just her friend, someone to fall back on. That night, that kiss…. Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut. _All through the night I'll be awake and I'll be with you All through the night This precious time when time is new Oh, all through the night today Knowing that we feel the same without saying _ "Lorelai?" Lorelai slowly opened her eyes. "Hey," She said slowly smiling. 'Craig.' She was afraid to hurt him. Besides, she wasn't really sure what she felt about Luke yet. Craig was a perfect fit for her. That _was_ love, right? ****************************** **October**  
6:45 PM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner Considering that it was a Saturday evening, the diner was unusually empty. There was the usual lonesome crowd: Kirk, a couple others, but that was about it. Luke leaned against the counter and looked out into the fall evening. It had already started getting dark pretty early, so dusk was falling. The leaves had started to turn golden. He found himself dreaming about her. _"LUKE!" "What? I told you not to call me!" Luke grumbled as he tried to balance the phone between his shoulder and ear. "I need help!" "I know." "HA!" She snorted. "What I mean it I need help with.. Um…" "With what?" Luke stretched the cord as far as it would go and approached some new customers. "What'll you have?" He tried to ignore the incessant babblings of Lorelai Gilmore in his ear. They gave him their orders and he nodded a thanks. Walking back to the counter, Luke took the phone in his hand. "What did you say?" "You weren't listening!" Lorelai accused him. He could practically see her pouting in the phone. Luke smiled. "I was," He insisted. "Liar! Come over, okay?" "Um.. The diner's still open," Luke reminded her. "Blah, blah," She said. "I'll make you tea!" Luke snorted. "I can make myself tea." "But it's not as special if I make it for you." 'True,' He thought wistfully. Of course, he would never admit that to her. "Fine, I'll come over in a little while, okay?" "YAY BUTCH!" "Don't call me that," He said and hung up. Half an hour later, Luke found himself standing on Lorelai's lawn with a rake in his hand. "I can't believe you tricked me into this," He grumbled. Lorelai threw him one of her sexy little grins. "I think my technique is improving." He rolled his eyes, but kept raking. "We're done, anyways," She said to him, sweeping some leaves onto the street. "Looks like we are," Luke said, dropping the rake onto the lawn. "So, do I get my tea now?" "Yup," She said, leaning her rake against the porch. "Thanks." She was grateful for his help. "No problem," He muttered and stuffed his hands into his pockets. He always felt uncomfortable when she got all serious. "But not before I do this!" Lorelai yelled and gave a savage cry. Suddenly, he found himself lying in a pile of leaves. "Hey!" He yelled. Lorelai just giggled and ran to the other side of the lawn. Luke dashed after her and grabbed her around the waist. She turned around in his grasp and looked into his eyes. They both stopped moving and stood looking at each other. "Uh," Lorelai said, breaking the silence. "I better get that tea."_ "Luke! Can I get more Equals?" Luke woke up from his reverie and saw Kirk motioning for him. "Yeah," He muttered and grabbed some from under the counter. ****************************** **A week or so later**  
7:45 PM, Friday  
In front of Craig's apartment building "Hi," Lorelai said and shook the guy's hand. "This is Steve," Craig said. "He and I are friends from work." "Oh," Lorelai said, nodding. 'Interesting shirt.' "Nice to meet you," Steve said, staring, not at her face, but somewhere else. "Yeah, same to you," Lorelai muttered, uncomfortable. She forced a smile. "Jane here?" Craig looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, she's supposed to come." After the incident, Jane and Lorelai had actually become good friends. Jane was a photographer for the New York Times, so she traveled a lot. When she did drop by the New York City office, she stayed with Craig. That night that Lorelai had gone back to Star's Hollow, Jane had come back to the city for a couple days. Once everything had been sorted out, Lorelai and Jane had found that they had a lot in common too. 'It's like the whole family is perfect for me,' Lorelai had thought. "Craig! Lorelai!" They looked down the street to see a harried Jane walking towards them. "Sorry I'm late!" "No problem, nothing's happened yet," Lorelai said, grinning. "I like your blouse!" 'Yay! Someone with taste!' "Thanks," Jane said and smiled back at her. "God, work is hectic. I don't know why Rory wants to work for the Times." Lorelai laughed. "I don't know why Rory wants to work at all. Work is overrated." Jane chuckled. "I agree." Craig snorted and put an arm around Lorelai waist. As they started to walk to Lounge 45, a classy lounge down the street, for some drinks, Jane and Lorelai found themselves walking behind the crowd of Craig's friends and Craig. "You know," Jane said. "My brother likes you a lot." Lorelai smiled slightly. "I know." "And I know he doesn't exactly have the best track record for commitment," Jane continued. "So I hear," Lorelai replied. "But I wanted to thank you for giving him a chance," Jane said smiling at her. "I can understand why you reacted the way you did that night that you came home and found me.." Lorelai laughed. "I just overreacted." "No, you didn't." Jane gave her a look. "It's happened before. Except some of his girlfriends never came back. He used to date a lot. But he's changed." "Oh," Lorelai just said. "I'm glad he found you," Jane smiled softly. "Me too," Lorelai said, looking straight ahead. ****************************** 7:48 PM, Friday  
In front of Craig's apartment building 'What am I doing here?' Luke shifted uncomfortably in his seat and peered out the window to Craig's apartment building. 'Impressive,' He thought. Then again, it was Fifth Avenue. He sighed, wondering how he was going to explain to Lorelai why he was there. He had a million questions to ask her, if only he could muster the courage to do so. _Why did you leave me?_ The crowd of people that had gathered in front of the building started to move down the street. _Why didn't you call?_ His eyes followed the crowd unconsciously as he sat thinking. _Didn't the kiss mean anything to you?_ Lorelai? He watched the familiar figure in the crowd. She was laughing and smiling as Craig said something to her. _Why do I let you hurt me so much?_ ****************************** Ahhh angst! -Ggirl =) Btw, the two Cyndi Lauper songs are: 1) Time after Time and 2) All Night Long 


	13. Letting Go, Holding On

Aww thanks so much for all your reviews! You guys are too sweet.. Gets me motivated to write more! Hehe Dawnmeister: hehe aww, you're welcome =) yay! More RaHP! =P Gluglug: haha ..Luke wanted to come by your place, but he had to go back to CT (the diner is closed? Ah, the shock!).. poor Lukey, he was all upset about Lorelai Kris Wright: Yeah, I Like Weezer too.. I always liked that "Island in the Sun" song.. Very happy BROEmEaNtToBe: lol Merry Christmas to you! Thanks for reading =) ******************** 7:51 PM, Friday  
In front of Craig's apartment building "So, she's happy," He said out loud, staring at the smiling couple. "That's what I wanted right? All these years, I just wanted to see her happy." 'Happy with me…' Lorelai laughed at something Craig said and hugged him. Luke leaned his head on the steering wheel. ******************** 7:51 PM, Friday  
In front of Craig's apartment building Craig rejoined his buddies in the front of the moving group. Lorelai and Jane fell back in the group, talking about a new clothing boutique that had opened down the street. As they were talking, Lorelai caught a glimpse of a familiar truck parked across the street. She could pick out that ancient artifact anywhere. "Be right back," Lorelai said to Jane. "Where are you going?" Jane asked. "Just across the street. You guys go ahead," Lorelai said. "I'll catch up with you." "Okay." Jane shrugged and jogged to keep up with her brother. Before walking across the street, Lorelai looked both ways. She jogged up to the truck and rapped on the window. "Luke?" Luke looked embarrassed, but he rolled down the window. "What are you doing here?" "You never called," He said, almost accusingly. "You never explained.." Lorelai hung her head. "I know, I'm.. I'm sorry." "Why?" Luke asked. "Lorelai, you just ran away, you never told me what you meant by all of it." She sighed and licked her dry lips. "I.. Craig and I, we're in a really good place right now. I mean, we're comfortable with each other and.. I like this relationship." Luke sighed, slowly taking in what she had said. 'So, the kiss was nothing to you?' He thought, wanting to ask her. 'It was _everything_ to me…' "When you said you were going to call, I assumed in a couple days. But then days turned into months, and I realized.." "I shouldn't have kissed you back that night," Lorelai interrupted. "Maybe it was the rain.." She shrugged. "It was.. a mistake." "Right, a mistake," Luke repeated, a pained look on his face, and started the engine. "I have to go." "Luke," Lorelai started. "Lorelai," Luke interrupted her, a sad look on his face. "Please don't do this to me. Don't let me hang on, thinking that there could be something there…" He suddenly stopped, knowing that he had said too much. Luke gave her a half-hearted smile and, looking over his shoulder, he started to pull out of the parking spot. Speechless, Lorelai watched him leave, not sure of what he meant by 'hanging on, thinking there could be something there….' ******************** 7:58 PM, Friday  
Craig's (and Lorelai's) apartment "I never should have let him kiss me," Lorelai sobbed into the phone. Sookie sighed. "Honey, it was probably just hormones or something." "Sookie!" Lorelai said, wiping her nose with a Kleenex. "I'm almost thirty six! I don't have hormonal control problems!" "Well," Sookie started, shrugging. "I knew this was going to happen," Lorelai shook her head. "Now I've lost him as a friend too." "Hon?" "Yeah," Lorelai sniffled and reached for another tissue. "I'm not an expert at these things," Sookie said slowly. "But I think you need to think about whether you're upset that you lost him as a friend, or as something.. more." Lorelai sighed. "Not this again." "Lorelai, come on. You've been moping about this for days, weeks, months. You've avoided him," Sookie continued. "You had to give up his coffee. I thought I would never see _that_ day. Won't you at least admit that you've thought of him as something more? Everyone knows that he feels that way about you." Lorelai grimaced at the thought of everyone gossiping about her and Luke. She let out a deep breath. "Okay, maybe a couple times." "So, why didn't you act on it?" "Well, I didn't know how he felt until after Craig came," Lorelai said, sighing. "And the fact that the night that you found Jane in the kitchen, you ran to him. You could have called me or Rory, which by the way had me slightly offended, but that's another story," Sookie rambled. "I'm sorry." "Nah," Sookie said giggling. "I'm just teasing you. But anyways, the fact that you ran straight to him says something." "That we're friends?" "Or more," Sookie said. Lorelai sighed. "Lorelai, have you told Craig you love him?" "Um, no." "Has Craig said it to you?" "Yeah." "So why haven't you said it to him?" Lorelai took a deep breath. "I dunno." Sookie sighed. "I don't know what to tell you, sweets, except that maybe it's time you really started thinking about whether or not you love Craig. 'Cause to me, it sounds like something, or someone, or holding you back." ******************** 8:03 PM, Friday  
Somewhere in New York State Luke clenched the steering wheel, driving a little faster than his usual 25 mph. 'God,' He thought furiously. 'Why do I always let her get under my skin?' He glared at himself in the review mirror and flicked on the radio, wanting to distract himself. _If I should live forever, and all my dreams come true_ 'Because Lorelai's beautiful and funny,' He thought wistfully. _My memories of love will be of you _ 'Because she's a wonderful and strong person.' _Some say love is holding on and some say letting go _ 'Because she's cute, no matter how annoying her habits may be…' _Some say love is everything and some say they don't know _ 'Because she cared for him….' Maybe not in the way he wanted her to care, but there had been potential. That night they kissed, he had been so sure that something was there. That maybe, just maybe, she cared for him the way he.. loved her. He had believed that she had felt something too. But then she ran again. And now, he realized that he couldn't take this anymore. She was in love with another man. The kiss had been just that. 'Because, she's just… Lorelai.' Letting go was going to be hard. ******************** 8:35 PM, Friday  
Craig's (and Lorelai's) apartment She knew that she should be thinking about it, but she really wanted to get the matter off her mind for a while. There was nothing good on television so Lorelai decided to go to the library. She thumbed through some of the bathroom readers, but found nothing interesting. Then something caught her eye. A leather bound book peeked out from the corner of the bottom shelf. "Star's Hollow Yearbook." Lorelai smiled. 'Big hair, tight pants, ahh.. Entertaining at the least,' She thought as she sat down on the plush carpet and turned to the first page. Lorelai giggled when she saw Craig's senior picture. He had BIG hair. "Football captain, class president, lead in senior play, honor roll," Lorelai read out. "Geez, more credentials than President Bush." She cocked her head thoughtfully. She traced her finger from Craig's picture to the upper left corner. Luke. _Luke Danes, aka Butch Danes.  
Hurdles Record at County Track Meet, President of Star Trek Club._ Normally, she would have laughed out loud at the mention of Luke's former Trekkie status, but this time, she just felt like crying. 'I messed it up, didn't I, Luke?' She thought, gently rubbing her thumb across his face in the photograph. 'Promise you'll be happy? That you'll find someone to make you happy? I just make you unhappy…' "Lorelai?" Craig called out as he entered the dim apartment. She had never showed up at the lounge. "Are you home?" "In here," He heard a muffled voice from the library. Lorelai wiped away the tears in her eyes and quickly turned a page in the album. "In here!" She called out, a little louder. Craig walked into the library to find Lorelai sitting on the floor. "What's up?" "Looking at your senior yearbook," Lorelai said, smiling slyly. "Nice pants." She pointed to a picture of Craig at the prom. "Sexy." "You think so?" Craig asked embarrassed. "Those should be illegal." "They are now," Lorelai replied, making a face. Craig laughed and peered over her. He leaned his chin on her shoulder and pointed at picture of Luke at the prom. He laughed. "Look at Luke." "Yeah," Lorelai replied softly. "Look at Luke." "You okay? You never came to the lounge," He said, turning her around to look at her tear-stained face. "You were crying..," he said softly. "Oh," Lorelai tried to laugh it off. "Nah, I was just…" 'Perfect boyfriend, wonderful daughter, blessed life.. So why am I so unhappy?' Craig kissed her gently. "Is everything okay?" Lorelai started to cry again. 'Why does he care for me so much?' She thought looking into Craig's concerned eyes. Lorelai knew Craig loved her and she cared for him too. Just not in the same way. As she sat there, looking into his gentle eyes, tears flowing in rivulets down her face, she suddenly realized what she had been so ignorant to for the past months. She didn't love Craig. There were things that she loved about him, but she didn't love _him_. Lorelai started to cry harder. Startled, Craig brought her head down to his shoulder and let her cry. "Is everything at work okay?" He asked. She nodded, biting her lip. More than anything, she didn't want to hurt him. He was too kind, too generous, and she knew that if she broke his heart, it would tear him apart. And he didn't deserve that. He suddenly lifted her face to his and gently kissed her tears away. It only made her cry harder, because she realized that she would eventually break this man's heart, and that she might have lost Luke, the only man she had ever truly loved. ******************** Song Lyrics are from "Perhaps Love" by John Denver (I never actually heard the song before, but I was reading the lyrics and it seemed like they fit) =) Ah, I know this chapter wasn't that great. After I wrote it, I tried to edit and make it better, but I just couldn't figure out a way to improve it! Blah!! =T And another thing is that, I'll still trying to figure out a way to end this whole thing... any suggestions? =) 


	14. It's All Changing

Ice: Hahaha .. Yeah, Craig is likeable character.. I like craig.. But I LOVE Luke.. therefore.. hehe Thanks to everyone else for your reviews! -Ggirl ********************* 7:46 AM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner There was nothing Luke Danes hated more than change. Change was annoying and inconvenient. He liked consistency, stagnancy.. But after yesterday's trip, he realized just how much had changed. Lorelai had moved away, she had fallen in love with someone else, and his life had changed forever. He couldn't control that, no matter how hard he squeezed his eyes closed and hoped that it was just a nightmare. He opened his eyes and sat up in his bed. He threw on a shirt, a pair of jeans, and his jacket and did what he had been doing for the past few months since she left. The bright sun shining in his face, almost taunting him with its happiness, Luke walked towards her house. Inside, it was dark and all was quiet. Lorelai was still gone. Shaking his head, Luke slowly walked back to the diner. ********************* 7:48 AM, Monday  
Luke's Diner He was going to do it today. He had been thinking about it over the weekend. It would commemorate possibly the first time that Luke Danes voluntarily made a change. He knew the townspeople would be angry with him; they would yell, and Taylor would bang that gavel of his and shake his fists. But he would be stubborn. He wasn't going to listen to them. Luke had his reasons; he needed to erase her from his life and this was the first step. Sighing, Luke walked over the door and turned over the sign to read "Open". Then he braced himself for what lay ahead. ********************* 8:03 AM, Monday  
Luke's Diner "Hey, Luke," Kirk said as he walked into the diner. He was the first customer that morning, as usual. "Could I get coffee and seven Equals?" "No," Luke grunted and turned away from Kirk. "Okay, FINE," Kirk said, huffily. "I'll take only five Equals." "No." "Three Equals?" "No." "One?" Kirk had a pleading expression on his face. "No." Kirk took a big breath. "Fine, no Equals. I'll just have the coffee." "No." "No?" Kirk was confused now. He had tried to decrease the number of Equals, that hadn't worked. What was going on? He could usually get Luke to give him coffee by now. "Why not?" Luke sighed and pointed to a new sign next to the "No Cellphones" sign. Kirk's jaw dropped. "No coffee?" He squeaked. Luke nodded and continued to arrange the menus. "How can a diner serve no coffee?" "If the diner owner says no coffee, then no coffee," Luke replied, a stern look on his face. Kirk was shocked. Mumbling incoherently, he stood up from the stool and started to walk out of the diner. ********************* 9:02 AM, Monday  
Star's Hollow By 8:30 AM, the whole town had heard. Luke's Diner no longer served coffee. No one knew why, and everyone was too afraid to ask. Everyone was in such a state of shock, that Taylor had to arrange an emergency town meeting. "Attention please!" He yelled over the crowd. "Will everyone please settle down?" As usual, no one paid any attention to him. "People! People!" Grumbling, some of the townspeople started to quiet down and face the cardigan-clad man in the front of the room. "Thank you," Taylor said, relieved that the attention had finally turned to him. "Now, we're here to discuss the shocking news that Kirk has called my attention to. Why don't we call Kirk up to the front of the room to tell his side of the story." Kirk nodded, feeling important, and walked to the front of the room. He cleared his throat and looked out into the crowd. "It was a lovely Monday morning, and I was looking forward to having my usual cup of coffee with Equals. Cat Kirk had been especially feisty, and I needed the caffeine. I was even hoping to add a couple more Equals than usual…" "Hey, can you get on with the story!?" Someone interrupted him. Kirk huffed, but continued. "So, I walked into Luke's and tried to order my coffee. But he refused to give to me. I kept asking, but the answer was continuously, 'No.' And then he called my attention to the new sign. It read, from what I remember.. However, I must admit my memory is a little cloudy from the shock. I believe it read, 'No coffee allowed.' The sign was right next to the 'No Cellphones' sign." "I saw the sign too!" Babette called out. "I was casually passing by the diner after I heard, and there it was, 'No coffee allowed'!" Morey nodded supportively. "Does anyone know why this sign may have suddenly appeared?" Taylor asked. Everyone shrugged. "Well then," he continued. "We need someone to find out." Everyone looked at Patty. "What? Me?" She asked, pointing to herself. She smiled slowly. "I'm sure I could find something out." ********************* 9:12 AM, Monday  
Luke's Diner Luke leaned on the counter and looked at the nearly empty diner. It was unusually quiet, even for Star's Hollow. He wondered what was going on. Of course, when he had decided on the new 'No Coffee' policy, he had considered the pecuniary downfalls. However, after several events where he found himself burning pancakes and pouring bags of sugar in the coffee machine, he decided that he might has well save his sanity and lose some profit than think about Lorelai Gilmore for the rest of his life. Making coffee, serving coffee, just the smell of coffee reminded him of her. Lorelai getting down on her knees to beg for coffee.. Endless arguments about the health risks….. Luke quickly shook his head to rid of his thoughts of Lorelai. 'No more Lorelai,' He berated himself. 'No more.' He looked out into the circle. No one. Where was everyone? It was really quiet… The jingling of the bell on his door startled him and he looked up to see who had entered. Patty. 'Darn,' He thought. 'Spoke too soon.' Patty smiled slyly at him. He managed to contain his shudder. She looked like she wanted to eat him up. Luke just grunted and went to go get a menu for her. "Luke dear," She said, sitting down at the counter. "Hi Patty," He muttered and handed her the menu. "Luke, I actually wanted to ask you something," Patty said and opened the menu, as if to browse. Luke nodded. Patty took it as a sign to continue. "I was wondering why you are no longer serving coffee." Luke sighed. "I have my reasons." "What reasons?" Patty pressed. He was quiet. "Coffee is bad for you," Luke managed to say. "And pancakes and bacon aren't?" Patty asked. Luke pursed his lips together. "I have my reasons." "_What_ reasons?" Luke shook his head and sighed. "Patty, did Taylor send you?" She pretended to look surprised and put a hand to her chest. "No, of course not, I was just wondering. After all, this is pretty sudden." "Well," Luke said. "Like I said, I have my reasons." 'Reasons that I will never tell anyone.' Patty sighed, realizing that it was a useless fight. Perhaps she could send Babette later. "Alright, then." Luke let a out a breath, relieved that she was no longer pressing the issue. "What can I get you then?" "How about a hot chocolate?" She asked, pointing to an item under the now blacked-out coffee. Luke nodded and went into the kitchen. ********************* 7:36 PM, Saturday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment "Hello?" Craig said into the phone, his eyes still on the football game. "Um, is Lorelai there?" Sookie asked tentatively. "Yeah, hold on." Craig jumped up from the couch and ran to the bedroom where Lorelai was dressing. "Hey," Craig said as he walked into the room. "Phone. I think it's Sookie." "OOo, thanks," Lorelai replied, smiling, and took the phone from him. "Hey, hon!" "Oh my gosh, Lorelai," Sookie breathed. "That man has a sexy voice." Lorelai laughed and clicked her tongue. "Tsk, tsk, Sookie. Remember Jackson?" "Jackson who?" Sookie asked, jokingly. "Hehe… so what's up?" Lorelai pulled on a crisp button down. "Lorelai," Sookie said, a sudden serious tone in her voice. "There is something really creepy going on at Luke's." "What?" "He stopped serving coffee." "What??" Lorelai said, shocked. She dropping her necklace on the ground. "Stopped serving coffee?" "Yeah, and he stopped wearing flannel." "WHAT?" "But he still has his hat." "Oh, whew," Lorelai said, letting out the breath she was holding. "Why would he stop serving coffee?" "I don't really know," Sookie admitted. "But the whole town is abuzz about it. And, here's the cincher…" Lorelai braced herself. "It all happened right after that weekend he was with you." Lorelai groaned. "No." "Yes, he put up his 'No Coffee Allowed' sign on the Monday after he went up to see you." Lorelai groaned again. "Why would he stop serving coffee?" "I think..," Sookie said thoughtfully. "I think he's trying to forget about you." "What?" Lorelai exclaimed. "Forget about me?" Sookie sighed. "You know Luke has had feelings for you for years. And now that you've found someone, I guess he finally realized that it's time for him to move on." "But," Lorelai sputtered. "Change? He never changes!" "This is major," Sookie agreed. "Oh my gosh, Sookie," Lorelai said, sitting down on the bed. "I.." "Don't take all the blame, hon," Sookie said sympathetically. "I'm not.. I mean, wait, it is my fault, isn't it?" Lorelai replied sadly. "But there's something else." "What?" "I love him." "No…," Sookie said, shocked. "Luke?" "Yeah," Lorelai replied. "Oh my gosh," Sookie replied and put a hand to her mouth. "Hon, did you tell Craig yet?" "No," Lorelai replied guiltily. "What are you gonna do?" "I don't know." Lorelai sighed. "Sookie, Craig is one of the nicest, most generous, and most wonderful guys I have ever met. And he loves me.. I don't know how to break it to him," She whispered. "What am I gonna do? I don't want to break his heart." Sookie sighed. "I don't know." Craig stuck his head into the bedroom. "Lorelai? You almost ready?" Surprised, Lorelai jumped up from the bed and smiled weakly. "Yeah, almost," She said, covering the mouthpiece. "Let me just say bye to Sookie." "Okay," He said and smiled at her. "I'll go get the car." She nodded as he left the room. "Sookie?" "I'm here." "I have go now.." "Lorelai, you better figure this all out soon," Sookie warned. Lorelai sighed. "I know…" ********************* 7:48 PM, Saturday  
In Front of Craig's and Lorelai's Apartment Building "Hey," Craig smiled as Lorelai slipped into the car. "You look beautiful," He said, shaking his head, as if in disbelief. Lorelai blushed. "Thanks." He reached for her hand and squeezed it. Lorelai leaned her head back on the chair and closed her eyes tightly. It was moments like this that made it hard for her. She felt guilty for not loving him back, she felt guilty for lying to him.. She was leading him on, making him believe that she loved him as truly and purely as he loved her. She had to tell him. Lorelai took a big breath. "Craig, I.." She interrupted by a dog that suddenly streaked across the street. "Oh, crap!" He called out and jerked the car to the left. The car swerved to the right and crashed into a tree. "Oh my god," Lorelai breathed as the air bag exploded open. She turned to Craig. "Craig? Are you okay?" Craig's head was leaning against his now inflated air bag and he was silent. Lorelai gently touched his shoulder. "Craig?" He was silent. ********************* Merry Christmas everyone!! =) 


	15. Heartbreak, Past and Present

8:45 PM, Saturday  
Hospital "Is he okay?" Lorelai asked nervously. Dr. Brown nodded. She was felt a little better about the fact that Dr. Brown was a friend of Craig's. He would take good care of him. "He has a mild concussion and a broken arm. Some bruises. He's probably feeling pretty groggy right now." Lorelai sighed with relief. "Not too bad though?" "Yeah, he'll be okay in a couple of days. But his arm will probably be in a cast for about 5 weeks." "Oh, okay." Lorelai shifted her weight. Because the car had hit the tree on the left, Craig had gotten hurt pretty badly, but she had escaped unscathed. Lorelai felt incredibly guilty, thinking about breaking up with him when he was feeling so horrible. "You're his girlfriend?" She nodded, almost hesitantly. "Yeah." "Lorelai, right?" Dr. Brown asked, jotting something down on his clipboard. The doctor suddenly smiled at her. "He talks about you a lot." Lorelai smiled slightly, embarrassed. "He doesn't anything bad, does he?" Dr. Brown laughed. "Nah." The doctor became serious. "He's gonna need your help a lot in the next couple of weeks." "Oh," Lorelai managed to say, pushing any thought of a breakup out of her mind. "Good thing I'm here." She forced a smile. ********************* 10:34 AM, Monday  
Craig and Lorelai's Apartment Craig groaned as Lorelai gently led him to the sofa. "Are you okay?" She asked softly. "Yeah," He said gruffly. Craig smiled up at her. "Thanks." Leaning towards her, he gave her a soft kiss on the cheek. "Just tired," He murmured and leaned his head back. "I'll go get something for you to eat, okay?" She whispered as he nodded sleepily. Before she was even in the kitchen, she could see that he was asleep. Sighing, she walked back to the sofa and watched him sleep. His arm was in a cast, which she had giddily decorated with magic marker and bumper stickers. Gently sitting next to him, Lorelai wondered why Craig hadn't already married. He was like the perfect guy: smart, cute, funny, and incredibly nice. Every girl's dream come true. Just not hers. Lorelai leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Luke. Taciturn, gruff, and not exactly a fashionista, but god, she.. loved him. She sighed and looked at the sleeping man next to her. Now, if only she could tell him. ********************* **Early November**  
10:34 PM, Monday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment "What!?" Lorelai exclaimed, biting her lip. "Luke," Sookie repeated. "..is dating." Lorelai sighed dejectedly. "I guess it's only fair. I mean, it's not like I even told him… He doesn't know about.. You know." Sookie sighed. "I don't know, hon." "He just got in an accident. How am I supposed to tell him that all this time I haven't been in love with him and now, I am breaking up with him?" Lorelai leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes. "Who is she?" She whispered. "Her name's Linda Jordan. She's a English teacher at some high school in Hartford. Not Chilton though." "Linda." "Yeah," Sookie replied. "But she's not as funny or sweet as you, babe." "Yay," Lorelai feigned enthusiasm. She sighed. "Thanks for the support, Sookie. You're a good friend." Sookie sighed, for Lorelai's situation was so muddled, so complicated, that she just couldn't help but feel terrible for her friend. She couldn't imagine not being able to be with the man she loved. After three years of marriage, life without Jackson, no matter how crazy he made her sometimes, was unimaginable. Maybe she shouldn't have told her friend; it probably only caused her more pain. "I'm sorry, Lorelai," Sookie said, biting her lip. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you." "No, no," Lorelai replied. "Thanks for telling me." She sighed again. "I guess he's really moving on." ********************* **A Week Later**  
9:45 PM, Monday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment The phone was ringing when Lorelai walked into the apartment from work. She rushed over to pick it up to hear a familiar voice. "Mom?" "Rory!" "Hi, Mom," Rory replied, smiling. "How's everything?" "Good, good," Lorelai lied, holding the phone to her ear with her shoulder. 'The man I love is now dating someone else. I'm living with someone I like, but don't love. I can't break up him right now. Oh, and the DAR woman is driving me crazy to point that I would rather sit in a corner and eat .. lettuce.' Balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder, she walked to the couch to drop off her bag and jacket, and then retreated to the kitchen for some food. With the holiday season starting, work was crazy and she had no time to eat. "How's school?" "Crazy, finals are coming up in a while," Rory replied, groaning. "MMMm," Lorelai muttered as she found the Chex mix and cheese doodles. She ripped open the bags and sat down at the table to eat. "Oops, I dropped a chex." "Oh," Rory said, confused. "Is that a form of expression?" "No, I really dropped a chex. I can't find.. it," Lorelai said, her head under the table. "How far could it go? I just dropped it." "Uhh." "Darn, oh well." Lorelai came up from under the table. "Tell me, anything exciting at school?" "Finals craze basically. No room at the library, blood-shot students, immense amounts of reading materials," Rory babbled. "Ahh, so Rory times a thousand," Lorelai replied, crunching in between. Rory laughed. "Basically." "Ah!" "What?" Rory asked, concerned by her mom's sudden outburst. "I dropped a cheese doodle." Rory groaned. "Moommm." "Oh, never mind, here it is," Lorelai replied as she gingerly picked the cheese doodle off her lap and ate it. "Well," Rory replied. "At least it wasn't like the chex failure." "True," Lorelai replied. "Guess what?" "What?" "Guess." "Um, you wore your pink sneakers?" "Actually, yes, but it's something much cooler," Lorelai replied. "Uh oh," Rory replied. "Someone complimented your shoes, didn't they? I always knew New Yorkers were weird." "Honey, we're from Star's Hollow." "Oh right, sorry," Rory replied, shaking her head. "What am I thinking? All the crazies live in Star's Hollow." "Okay, I'll just tell you," Lorelai said munching on more cheese doodles. "The parental units are going to London for Thanksgiving!" "No," Rory gasped. "Wow, you got lucky!" "Yes." Lorelai sighed blissfully. "Thanksgiving without Mr. And Mrs. Party Pooper! Joy to the world!" "How?" "Well," Lorelai said. "It seems that Lorelai #1 invited them. But.. on the other hand, Craig's family is coming." Rory gasped again. "The in-laws." "Uh, not yet, hon. I forgave him for inviting them without asking me first, but only have bopping him on the head with a breadstick and making him sit through a Mary Kate and Ashley marathon." Rory gasped. "Stop that!" Rory giggled. "Okay." Lorelai heard a muffled sound in the background. "Oh, I have to go, Mom." "Okay," Lorelai said. "So I'll see you in two weeks?" "Yeah! Talk to you later!" "Bye!" ********************* 9:59 PM, Monday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment Lorelai sighed as she put the phone back on the receiver. This was just a big mess. She was going to be introduced to Craig's parents. Everyday, she saw this amazing guy, who loved her more than anything and wondered how she was going to tell him that she wasn't the one for him. Or rather, he wasn't the one for her. Guilt was her best friend these days. Lorelai looked up as she heard the front door open. "Hey," Craig exclaimed, smiling. "Hi," She replied. "Your arm okay?" "Yeah," He said, nodding. "I get a little ache now and then, but it's no problem when I'm just in the office." "That's good," She replied, smiling slightly. He went into the bedroom to change. "Hey," Craig suddenly spoke up as he reentered the living room. "Lorelai, I wanted to talk to you." "It's fine that your parents are coming," Lorelai said, munching on cheese doodles. "Well, okay, we need to talk about that too," Craig said. "But I wanted to talk about.. you." "Me?" Lorelai raised a brow. "Why?" "Well," Craig said, shifting his weight. "You seem kinda down these days." "Me?" Lorelai asked. "I feel.. Fine. I mean, work is hectic and all, but I'm alright." "I dunno," Craig said smiling gently. "Remember when we first started dating? I mean, you were always really hyper and everything.. Not that I don't love the calm, quieter Lorelai, just I was worried because it seems like you're not really yourself these days." "Oh," Lorleai replied. She forced a smile. 'Should I tell him?' Craig sat down on the couch next to her and put his good arm around her shoulders. "So you're okay?" He kissed the top of her head. "Yeah." Craig leaned his head on her shoulder and they looked out into the Manhattan skyline. He nuzzled her neck, softly kissing her collarbone. Lorelai squeezed her eyes shut. 'I just can't.. I can't…' ********************* 11:53 PM, Monday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment She was unusually quiet these days. Craig looked at Lorelai sleeping next to him. She was sleeping in the fetal position, her face away from his. Was this what an established relationship was like? Did women change after they were together in a relationship for a long time? He didn't really know; he was usually the love 'em and leave 'em type, as his sister liked to say. Before Lorelai, his longest relationship had been about a one month. And how well he remembered that one month. In high school, it had been fun dating a lot of girls. It was flattering, how the girls chased him. He had been pretty cocky in high school. And when he hit college, he had gone with the same cocky attitude, expecting to have girls jump him like they did in high school. They didn't. College girls were different. Being the obnoxious, immature boy he had been then, he decided he'd wait until the girls pursued him. And then he met her. Carla. _"Are you gonna eat that?"  
Craig looked up from his book to see a tall, willowy blonde standing in front of him. "Excuse me?" He asked. She smiled.   
"The chips. Because, if you don't want it, I'm collecting food for the homeless shelter," She said brightly. She was wearing a tank top that read "Homeless Coalition of the University of California".  
"Oh," Craig replied and put down his book. "Okay, you can take it." 'A goody-goody,' He thought, appreciating the view as she leaned over to pick up the bag of chips. "So, what's your name?"   
She frowned as he blatantly checked out her chest. She raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't you like to know."  
"Ohhh," He said, smiling cockily. "And I would." He raised an eyebrow at her, smiling.   
"Well," She said frowning. "That's just too bad, because I don't date uncouth and cocky guys like you." Having said her part, the girl picked up the bag and stalked away. Shocked, Craig sat with his mouth open.   
'Smooth move, Einstein,' He thought, silently berating himself. 'The least you could do is apologize.' "Hey!" Craig called out and jumped up from the bench where he sat. "Hey!"  
She ignored him and kept walking across the green. Craig jogged to keep up with her. "What?" She snapped, her eyes flashing.  
"I.. Uh..," Craig stuttered, suddenly noticing that her eyes were a deep green, with little flecks of gold. Her golden hair looked soft and shined in the bright sunlight. "I'm sorry."  
She sighed. "Thanks for the chips." Craig nodded uncomfortably and started to walk back to the bench where he had left his book.  
"Hey!"   
He turned around to see her looking at him. "Do you wanna come help?" She managed a small smile.   
"Yeah," Craig heard himself saying. "I'd like that." _ And so they had met; he had almost instantly fallen in love with Carla. Generous, smart as a whip, beautiful, brave.. Carla always stood up for what she believed in. She had never been afraid to hold back her feelings about anything. She was also the one who made him change. Before her, he had been the cocky playboy, dating multitudes of girls. But after he met her, he changed, letting the kinder, softer Craig shine through. For one month, he found himself constantly pining after her independent soul. He loved her like he had never loved anyone before. _"Hey, Brian?" Craig knocked on the door. No response. He cocked his head, trying to remember if his roommate had already left for the holidays. He shrugged and dug around his pocket for his key. "Bingo!" He exclaimed, smiling, as he found the key in his back pocket. Craig opened the door and saw his roommate…   
"Carla?" He croaked. "What are you doing?"  
Carla gave him a sheepish look. "Craig…I thought you left for home…" She struggled to button her blouse. "I .. um..,"   
Carla started. She slapped a hand to her forehead. "Shit. Okay, Brian and I have kinda been... we're together.. now." His sheepish roommate avoided his eyes and struggled to put his shirt on.  
"But," Craig stuttered. "I thought.."  
"Look, Craig," Carla said, smiling. "You're a nice guy, but.. sometimes.. you're too.. clingy."  
The words stung and he closed his eyes. Craig thought the room was spinning, but when he opened his eyes everything around him was still. "Okay," He managed to say. "I gotta go." He stiffly walked out of the room._ Craig opened his eyes, pushing away the past and looking at the woman he was with now. In the end, Carla changed him again, back to the man he had been. Before Lorelai, he had dated lots of women, pushing them away, at the smallest flaw or the tiniest disagreement. In some cases, he even found himself looking for a flaw so he could break up with the woman. But with Lorelai, it just seemed like falling into place. They loved the same things, they always had fun; together, they were just.. perfect. Craig slung his good arm around her shoulder and cuddled up to her before falling asleep. He had a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. ********************* 1:23 AM, Tuesday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment _She suddenly found herself back at that night….  
"I missed you," She whispered to him, rain dripping down her face. He was silent, his eyes dark. "Luke?" She asked in a plaintive voice. "Please say something..."  
"I missed you too," Luke said. He grabbed her and hugged her to him. She was startled by his sudden move and her arms hung weakly by her side. But she slowly recovered from the initial shock and brought her arms up and wrapped them around his neck. It felt so right to be held by him. She put her chin on his shoulder and closed her eyes.  
"A lot," He whispered into her hair.   
She pulled away and looked at him. "Luke, I..," She started. Suddenly his lips were on hers.   
Luke's lips were surprising soft, gently brushing against hers. "Luke," She breathed. His hands were running up and down the side of her body, touching her hair and the small of her back. His right hand was on the back of her head, tangled in her wet hair. His left found its way to her hand, and entwined with hers.   
Suddenly, they were pulled apart.   
"I don't think so," A woman said haughtily as she pulled Luke away. "Luke is mine now."  
"Excuse me?" Lorelai asked. "Yours?" 'Linda,' She thought, realizing who the woman was. "Luke?" Lorelai looked to Luke. The woman glared at her and started to stalk away. Shrugging, Luke timidly followed after the woman.   
"Luke!" She cried out. She tried to follow him, but her feet seemed to be planted right where they were. "LUKE!"_ "Lorelai," Craig said, gently shaking her. Lorelai flayed her arms. "Luke!" "What?" Craig said, surprised. 'Did she just say Luke?' "Lorelai?" Suddenly, her eyes opened and she looked up to see Craig staring down at her. "Are you okay?" He asked. "Yeah," Lorelai replied, breathing heavily. "Did you just scream Luke?" "Uh," Lorelai said, squinting in the darkness at Craig. "Um, no. I said Duke, because.. I was having a dream about .. The Duke.. Of…" Craig stared at her. "Huh?" "Did I say Duke? I meant puke," Lorelai stuttered. "I had a dream that .." She tried to think. "That I was at this frat party and this guy was about to .. throw up and I was like 'Puke!'" "Oh," Craig said, giving her a weird look. "I think I need more sleep," Lorelai said, smiling crookedly. "G'night." "Okay," Craig replied, confused. She had said Luke. He was sure of it. ******************* Wow, I have writer's block.. So please excuse the horrible chapter. Argh, I hate it when I have writer's block… all this crap comes out. Now i feel like I'm overdoing the angst.. it's really bothering me.. but I can't seem to write anything BUT angst.. x( Oh, and thanks for reading.. -Ggirl 


	16. Crying in the Rain on my Big Fat Greek T...

This chapter has been re-edited and re-updated becuase I noticed a lot of mistakes.. A note to Everyone: I probably should have said this in the story, but in ch. 4 when Lane and Dave talk about being from Kansas.. it's 'cause they both go to schol in Kansas. Mama Kim sent Lane to school in Kansas, and Dave, being the sweetie that he is, decided to go to college in Kansas too.. apologies to anyone who lives in Kansas! But if it's any console, I used to live in Oklahoma.. damn, it was flat there.. Luke_Lorelai_Ash: Lol.. glad you got that out.. but Craig's not too bad.. I mean, I feel sorta bad for the guy.. miss pebbles: Luke/Puke/Duke has moved on... or has he?? Hmmm... ;) Dawnmeister: aww thanks hehe...lol.. you know that whole cheese doodle thing actually happened.. to moi .. haha and i was like inspired =).. i don't mean to push you for some more RaHP.. but RAHP! RAHP! RAHP! teehehee masscoffee: A corner? It's like a hole!! lol.. if i drank coffee, i would (stunts my growth).. sigh.. jewls13: lol glad you like ... no one has ever written that? that's so weird... ((shrug)) I feel special! ((beams)) Whooooohoo! Thanksgiving.. Hehe kinda late for Thanksgiving, I know… ******************* **Thanksgiving Day**  
6:21 PM, Thursday  
Craig's and Lorelai's Apartment "Wow," Lorelai said, her eyes widening at the growing crowd in the apartment. "Is it just me, or does this scene look like something out of `My Big Fat Greek Wedding'?" She turned to Rory. Rory nodded, eating castana. "A little. Craig _is_ Greek, you know." "I know," Lorelai said thoughtfully. "But still, this is scarily like `My Big Fat Greek Wedding'." "That lady looks like Toula to me," Rory said motioning to a woman across the room. "And he looks like Joey Fatone from NSYNC." Lorelai pointed to a person standing next to the fireplace. "Mom," Rory said, squinting to where her mom was pointing. "That's Craig's grandmother." "Damnit," Lorelai mumbled, quickly dropping her arm. "I knew something wasn't right with this picture." Rory moved down the buffet table to the amedelotas (almond cookies). "Wow, try these." She handed her mom a cookie. Lorelai took the cookie but kept looking at the woman. "Ew, imagine having an NSYNC boy for your grandmother? God.." She made a face. "Just imagine Joey saying, 'Here, Craig! Come give Granny a kiss!' And that facial hair.." Lorelai shuddered. "Mom!" Rory exclaimed and rolled her eyes. "That's not nice!" Lorelai giggled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. This is kinda nice though.. A very nice feeling of family union and stuff. A lot of food," She said, surveying the huge spread of foods. "A lot of Greek food," She added. She eyed a roasted meat on the table. "A lot of Greek food with faces." Lorelai made a gagging noise. "I can't eat something with a face." Rory made a face and nodded in agreement. "Let's binge on the baklava." "Sounds good to me, Rory Portakalos," Lorelai said, nodding and placed a huge portion of baklava on her plate. "Hey! Maybe Aunt Voula will come and get us drunk on Ouzo!" She got excited at the prospect of drunken revelry. Rory just rolled her eyes. "You are Lorelai?" Lorelai turned around to face a large woman with a smiling face. "Yes, hello." Lorelai smiled. "Hello! I am Mrs. Diodorous, Craig's mother," the woman said beaming. "And I am so happy to meet the girl my Craig loves." She wrapped Lorelai in a big hug. Unsure of what to do, Lorelai just pat the lady on the back. "Nice to meet you," Lorelai said, smiling, as they pulled apart. "I'm so happy Craig met you!" Mrs. Diodorous said, her smile getting wider and bigger by the second. "Me too!" Lorelai replied. "Oh! You funny!" Mrs. Diodorous laughed. "And beautiful. You're a beautiful girl." Lorelai blushed. 'I just made a joke?' She was confused so she just smiled. "Thank you. Oh! This is my daughter, Rory." Mrs. Diodorous gaped at Rory. "Your daughter? Not your sister?" "No, my daughter," Lorelai said putting an arm around Rory's shoulders. "Cousin?" "No, daughter." "Friend?" "No, Rory's my daughter," Lorelai said. "Hi," Rory suddenly spoke up and waved. "Oy, you look much too young to have a daughter," Mrs. Diodorous said to Lorelai. "Athena! I need your help!" Mrs. Diodorous turned around. "Oy! I must get to the kitchen. We'll talk later, yes?" "Sure," Lorelai replied, smiling. "Nice to meet you." Mrs. Diodorous just beamed and walked towards the kitchen. "Wow, she's nice," Lorelai replied, as they sat down on the couch. Rory nodded. "She is." "And she.. really does look like Joey Fatone," Lorelai said, motioning to the woman at the fireplace. "Mom!" "I'm kidding!" Lorelai giggled and looked up to catch a glimpse of someone wearing flannel and a backwards cap. `Luke?' She thought immediately and set her plate down on the coffee table. "I'll be right back," She said to Rory, keeping her eye on the man. Rory looked at her mother, who was acting really strangely. "Uh, Mom? Are you okay?" Lorelai didn't answer and instead, started to make her way across the room. The man was leaving, shaking hands with someone near the door. He hugged one of Craig's many female cousins and then was gone. `Luke!' She thought frantically, racing towards the door, which had closed softly behind him. She opened the door and stepped out of the apartment. `Luke' was standing at the end of the hallway, waiting for the elevator. "Lu-," She started as she approached the man. Then she saw his face. "Oh, I'm sorry," Lorelai said, embarrassed. "I thought you were someone else." The man just nodded and smiled. "It's okay. Happy Thanksgiving." "You too," Lorelai muttered and slowly started to make her way back to the apartment. ******************* 7:34 PM, Thursday  
Luke's Diner Luke placed the plates in front of the customers. "Enjoy," He said and walked back to the counter. Leaning against the counter, he closed his eyes. He wasn't getting enough sleep these days. Luke's mind unconsciously drifted back to that Thanksgiving when Lorelai and Rory had had to go to four dinners. _"Oh, uh, perfect. That works great. Okay, bye now," Lorelai said into the phone and then hung up. "Sorry, I'm just clarifying the schedule for tomorrow. As luck has it, we can make it. We'll definitely be here."  
"It's okay," Luke said, shrugging.   
"No, it's all cleared. That was my mom, and, uh, the time's just gonna work out just fine," Lorelai lied.  
"Really, you don't have to. I already stopped prepping the last turkey," Luke replied.  
"Well, start prepping it again `cause we are coming," Lorelai said, smiling at him.  
Her smiles usually made him give into whatever she wanted. "I don't want you to feel like you have to come," Luke said, frowning slightly.  
Lorelai sighed and looked at her daughter. "This is tiring," she said melodramatically.  
Rory looked thoughtful. "I can kneel behind him and you can push him over."  
Lorelai nodded. "It may come to that."  
"It won't be a hassle?" Luke asked.  
"It won't be a hassle," Lorelai replied, beaming.   
"You sure?" He questioned her, a look of doubt on his face.  
"We're coming, now go away and let us eat. Shoo, shoo," Lorelai said, making shoo-ing motions with her hands.   
Nodding, Luke walked away, a small smile on his face._ Luke smiled sadly, thinking about how Lorelai had pretended to get a phone call, just so she wouldn't have to disappoint him. Was he that transparent? Or was she just really perceptive? He wondered where she was at the moment.. `Probably with Craig,' He thought painfully. The jingling bell woke him from his reverie. Linda. "Hey," She said, smiling. She shrugged off her wet jacket and put her dripping umbrella on the rack. "Wow, it's raining a lot." "Hi. Yeah, it is," He replied, trying to appear happy. But with Lorelai (or the lack of) on his mind, it was hard. Linda leaned over the counter and kissed him on the cheek. Kisses made him think of Lorelai. Hell, everything made him think of Lorelai. He had tried to make changes, he had tried to forget, but it didn't seem to be working. For the love of God, he had stopped wearing flannel for the first time in like two decades.. His diner no longer served coffee.. what diner didn't serve coffee!? 'Luke's Diner.. Pathetic, lovesick Luke,' Luke thought, sadly. "I'll be right back." Luke smiled half-heartedly. She nodded and helped herself to some tea. Luke walked through the kitchen, where Caesar was checking up on the turkey. "Hey, Luke," Caesar started. "Uh, just a second," Luke interrupted him. He walked out into the alley behind the diner. Taking a long look up into the sky, Luke crumbled against the brick wall. Raindrops pelted him in the face. _I'll never let you see.. The way my broken heart is hurting in me _ `I can't live like this,' He thought, looking up into the rain. `Always thinking about her..' He sighed deeply. `when she's with someone else..' Even when he was supposed to be with his girlfriend, he found himself thinking about Lorelai instead.. _I've got my pride and I know how to hide _ "I've tried everything!" He yelled angrily. His voice was swallowed by the sound of the pounding rain. _All my sorrow and pain _ "Everything," He whispered. "Lorelai, Lorelai.." _I'll do my crying in the rain_ She had gone and fallen in love. She had left.. _If I wait for stormy skies _ He laughed out loud. What did he expect? Did he expect her to come running to back to him? _You won't know the rain from the tears in my eyes_ Even after that night.. The one night that lingered in his mind.. The kiss.. _You'll never know that I still love you so _ She was beautiful and smart.. She deserved more than him... _Only heart is remain …I'll do my crying in the rain_ And it wasn't like he had ever told her how he felt. _Raindrops falling from heaven...Could never take away my misery_ But.. god, he missed her so much. _Since we're not together, I pray for stormy weather_ Every minute of the day, he was constantly trying to push her out of his mind. He was acting like a fool, and he knew it. _To hide these tears I hope you'll never see_ He needed to forget, because she was someone else's now... _Someday when my crying is done _ Taking a deep breath, Luke wiped the rain off his face and walked back into the kitchen. _I'm gonna wear a smile and walk in the sun_ He passed by Caesar, who watched him stalk by. "Luke, you're all wet." Luke just nodded. _I may be a fool but till then, darling, you never see me complain_ "Luke?" Linda looked up as he walked into the diner, dripping all over the floor. Dozens of pairs of eyes turned to him. _I'll do my crying in the rain_ `Help me forget,' He thought, his eyes poring into her questioning ones. Luke grabbed Linda and kissed her hard on the mouth. _I'll do my crying in the rain_ "My goodness," Patty said to Babette. _I'll do my crying in the rain_ `I will forget,' Luke said, pulling away from Linda. `I will forget.' "Now, what can I get you?" He smiled at a shocked Linda. _I'll do my crying in the rain...._ ******************* The song from the scene above (song lyrics in italics) is called: "Crying In the Rain" by A-Ha Got the dialogue for the scene from A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving from Gilmore-girls.net Next 


	17. Fools Rush In

Eww.. I was just re-reading ch. 16 (Crying in the Rain on my Big Fat Greek Wedding).. Whoa extreme cheesiness… I was like "What the.. I wrote this???" I'm sorry for the over-fluffed fluffiness.. Let's hope I get back to normal soon, cuz obviously, I'm having mood swing problems.. And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, let's just say it's better that way! I hate doing this author's notes.. But these can get really addicting.. I always feel this need to put another one, and another one… okay, i think this one is going to be 22 chapters long.. But here's the deal: when i originally planned this story, I planned it to be about 12 chapters. And then, somehow, i changed the storyline and suddenly Luke is no longer flannel-clad and the diner is no longer serving cofffe.. AHHHHH and I don't really know where I'm going with this whole story.. But I think I've finally figured it to be about 21 chapters + Epilogue So I've kinda figured out how to end this whole Craig-Lorelai-Luke fiasco... we'll see how my brain feels.. thanks so much for reading =) -Ggirl P.S. gluglug: Norwegian trio? Who's that? Allison: Everwood..? Hm.. I heard that show was good.. But don't give me ideas! I watch wayyy too much tv already (food network! Food network!) ******************* 

_Once in a lifetime, you find the one you really love   
For now and forever, one love that never ends  
Once in a lifetime, when every star that lights the sky  
Will shine with one reason, leading your heart to the one love you find  
Just once in a lifetime Some people live their lives in compromise,  
And hide their dreams away  
Some never take the chance, within their hands,  
To claim the prize they make  
When faith is all you need, to hold the hand of destiny,  
Find the love that's meant to be_

11:24 PM, Thursday  
Craig's and Lorelai's Apartment "Wow, Craig's family really liked you," Rory commented after the last of the guests had left. Craig had left to drive some of their family members home. Lorelai nodded sadly. 'Luke…,' She thought, her mind thinking back to the man she had lost. She shook her head. 'He's with someone else now ..' She wondered how Thanksgiving had been for him. "Uh, Mom?" Rory waved a hand in front of Lorelai's face. "Huh? What?" Lorelai pulled her gaze away from the Manhattan skyline and looked at Rory. "Are you okay?" Rory asked, concerned. Her mom had been acting pretty weird ever since she had run out during their baklava binge. "Did something happen?" Lorelai shook her head dejectedly. "No, nothing happened." Rory wasn't convinced, but she didn't want to press her mom. "So.. Uh.. Doesn't it suck that Jane couldn't make it? That sucks.. Not being at home for Thanksgiving." Ever since she had met Jane, Rory had decided that Jane was her new role model. After all, she did have the job that Rory coveted, plus the travel, the excitement… But Rory could also see that there were downfalls to being a reporter/photographer for the New York Times… Like not being home for the holidays. Lorelai seemed to be staring out into a void again. "Um," Rory said, staring at her mom, who didn't seem to know she was there. "Mom? Are you sure you're okay?" Rory tried to remember how much Ouzo her mom had had. "Yeah..," Lorelai said. A single tear fell down her cheek. "Mom!" Rory said, turning her mom to her. "Mom, what's wrong?" Lorelai started to cry openly. "Rory.. I messed up," Lorelai said, taking the tissue that her daughter held out to her. "Mom..," Rory whispered and hugged her mom. She didn't really know what was going on, but she couldn't remember a time when Lorelai looked so beaten.. so bleak.. "What happened?" "Rory," Lorelai suddenly said, pulling away to blow her nose. "What do you do if you lose something.. But you can't seem to forget about it..?" Rory thought for a sec. "I don't know.. I guess you should go for it then." Lorelai sighed. "I should, shouldn't I?" "Mom, what are you talking about?" Lorelai took a deep breath. "I.. fell in love with another man." "What?" Rory exclaimed, a shocked look on her face. "Who?" She had a feeling that she already knew who it was. Lorelai looked out the window. "And he seems to have moved on…" "It's Luke," Rory said. Lorelai nodded slowly. She stood up from the couch. "Mom," Rory called out. "You have to tell him… And Craig.." She remembered Jess telling her that 'Uncle Luke' had started going out with some woman.. Linda, was it? Lorelai looked back at her daughter and just sighed before leaving the room. Sighing, Rory leaned back on the couch. She could understand how her mom felt. After all, she had once been stuck between Dean and Jess. But once she had finally admitted her feelings for Jess.. It felt like the whole world had been lifted off her shoulders. She could finally be with the boy she liked.. now, loved. Being with Jess made her so happy. She could only hope her mom could find the same happiness. ******************* 6:34 AM, Monday  
Port Authority Bus Station "It was nice to see you, Rory," Craig said smiling. Rory nodded and smiled back. "Thanks for having me," Rory replied. She turned to her mom. "Well, I guess it's back to school then." She hugged her mom, holding her for a long time. "Tell him," she whispered into her mom's ear. Lorelai pulled back, her face expressionless, her eyes still. She forced a smile. "Good luck on your finals, Rory." Rory kissed her mom on the cheek and started to walk towards the gates to the bus. "Bye!" She waved at the couple. Smiling, Craig waved his arm, still in a cast, but no longer needing a sling. His good arm was looped around Lorelai's shoulder. A despondent Lorelai waved to her daughter, her face distraught and full of longing… Rory gave them one last look before boarding the bus, wondering how love could make one person so happy and the other so sad… ******************* **December**  
6:24 PM, Friday  
Craig's and Lorelai's Apartment "How's the convention?" Lorelai asked and licked her spoon clean. "Boring," Craig sighed over the phone. "Boring, boring…" Lorelai laughed. "I see.. I thought you would find a neurology convention exciting.." "I'm a neurologist and I love what I do, but neurology conventions are .. Pointless and boring," Craig whined. "I'd rather be home with you." Lorelai closed her eyes. "It can't be that bad." "It's that bad." Lorelai forced a laugh. The door bell rang. "Oh! The pizza's here!" She exclaimed, relieved. "Bye," Craig siad mournfully. "I'm just going to sulk in my room." "Aw, don't do that. Go out and have some fun," Lorelai said walking towards the door. "Maybe I'll go play with the human-brain models downstairs," Craig said, sighing. "I'll reassemble them." Lorelai laughed and opened the door. "Okay, bye." "Bye." "Hi, how much is it?" Lorelai asked. The pizza man handed her the box. "Fourteen fifty." When she took out the money from her wallet, he stretched out a flannel-clad arm. Lorelai found herself staring at it dumbly for a few seconds before coming back down to Earth. She handed the money to the confused man and closed the door behind him. Lorelai leaned against the door and closed her eyes. Why was everyone wearing flannel these days? Sighing, she took the box to the coffee table and opened it. "Mmm," She said, breathing in the warm aroma of cheese and tomato sauce. Then she walked over to Craig's movie collection and closed her eyes to pick a random DVD. Without checking the title, she popped the DVD into the player and turned the television on. 'An Affair to Remember,' She thought, reading the credits as the movie started to play. God, everything seemed to be remind her of Luke. Setting her uneaten slice of pizza down, she leaned back on the sofa to watch one of the saddest love stories of time. ******************* 6:53 PM, Friday  
San Francisco After speaking with Lorelai on the phone, Craig decided that he might as well venture out into San Francisco. He couldn't find anything to do after he rearranged some of the brain parts in the convention hall. He snickered, imagining how Dr. Goldstein would react when he found out in the morning. 'Too bad Lorelai wasn't here to do it with me,' He thought wistfully. He missed her. Craig was worried about her too. She had seemed to be her usual preppy self for a while, but then she was soon back to her sad self after the Thanksgiving dinner. His mother had absolutely loved her, which made him happy. His sister liked her, his friends thought she was funny. His life couldn't get any better. ******************* 8:14 PM, Friday  
Craig's and Lorelai's Apartment Sobbing, Lorelai grabbed the last tissue from Brian, her tissue box. Cary Grant had just walked into Deborah Karr's apartment in the last scene. Just as Cary Grant stormed through the apartment and saw the wheelchair, Lorelai turned the television off. Really, she couldn't stand anymore. Her eyes tearing, she got up from the couch and took the empty ice cream carton and the half full pizza box to the kitchen. As she came back to the living room, her gaze fell upon the telephone. She wanted to call him, she wanted to talk to him.. See him… Lorelai looked at the car keys hanging by the door. 'What if I go there and Linda is there with him?' She thought painfully. She didn't need to see him with another woman. She could call him, but what if Linda picked up the phone? Lorelai looked to the antique roll-up desk in the corner of the room. A letter. She could write him a letter. Sighing, Lorelai sat at the desk and struggled to start the letters. She wasn't exactly the most articulate person in the world, especially with her feelings. She closed her eyes and tried to organize her thoughts. _Dear Luke,_ She wrote.  
_How are you?_  
'Uck,' she thought frowning. What was she doing? Writing to her friend from summer camp? He was probably fine anyways, with Linda. She was the one who was miserable and missing him. She crumbled the paper and threw it in the trash can next to the desk. _Dear Luke,_   
Lorelai closed her eyes and started to write.   
_I can't stop thinking about you…_  
She opened her eyes. Ah. She couldn't write that out right. What if he got scared? She crumbled the paper and threw it out. Five tries later, she found herself staring at the same two words she had started out with: _Dear Luke_ 'Damnit,' She thought angrily. Writing a letter was too hard. _I'm in love with you._ The truth, but something she didn't want to write on a letter. She angrily crumbled the paper and threw it in the trash with the others. Lorelai put her head down on the desk and cried. ******************* 8:35 PM, Friday  
San Francisco After eating Dim Sum at Yank Sing, Craig had browsed a couple music stores in the area. He had snagged a great 80's mix CD for Lorelai at Amoeba and some punk titles for himself at Aquarius Records. Swinging the plastic bag, he walked up the steep hill to Huntington Hotel. 'San Francisco is beautiful at night,' He thought once up on the hill. He looked down on the brightly lit skyline. 'Lorelai would love it here.' Just as he was about to enter the hotel, his eye caught a bright display in a store. Whistling 'California Dreams', Craig stopped short in front of the Tiffany's store. He peered into the display, admiring the twinkling rings. He had been thinking of proposing for a while now. True, he had only known her for about 9 months, but he was convinced she was the one. Beautiful, funny, smart… His breath caught in his throat whenever he saw her. His gaze fell upon one ring in the middle: the band was made of white gold and the sparkling rock in the middle was enough to make Ben and Jen jealous. It would make quite a hole in his pocket, but only the best was good enough for Lorelai. Smiling, he walked into the store. ******************* 8:46 PM, Friday  
Luke's Diner Groaning, Luke got off the bed and walked towards her. Linda glared at him. "I can't believe you," She snapped. "Linda," Luke started. "No," Linda replied, her eyes flashing angrily. "Don't call me." With that, she left the apartment, slamming the door closed behind her. Sighing deeply, Luke sat on the edge of the bed and put his head in his hands. It had all started out innocent enough; Linda had come over after work to see him. There hadn't been many customers, so Luke had closed up early so he could spend time with Linda. They went upstairs to his apartment to watch some television. Or so he thought. It seemed that Linda had come with a specific motive. Once the door was closed, Linda had come onto him, full force. Suddenly, they were on the bed. Linda's hands were under his shirt and his were on the small of her back, brushing against the soft fabric of her shirt. And as he kissed her, he'd unconsciously said it: "Lorelai…" She had pulled away from him, her eyes showing a mix of surprise and anger. "What?" She had asked. "Uh," Luke had said, realizing his mistake. He was bad at making up excuses, so he had decided not to try. "You said Lorelai," She had said in an accusing tone. "Who's Lorelai?" "Um.." Luke had looked down at his hands. Now, ten minutes later, he found himself looking down at his hands again. Sighing, Luke stood up from the bed and looked out into the cold December night. Who was he kidding? No matter what he tried, he wouldn't get over her. 


	18. I Love you, Goodbye

Gluglug: lol I dunno.. I read a lot of fanfic.. who knows.. Perhaps I read something or something.. As for your last name.. I have no idea how that scary coincidence happened! ScoobyGal55: Ooo well.. Hehe I've seen the shirt a couple times.. I thought that's what I saw.. Oo well hehe thanx for telling me tho =) Jewls13: yay! I'm glad u like him.. I wanted him to be like all devoted to Lorelai.. But not all pathetic.. Cuz Luke is not a pathetic guy, u know? Haha poor luke.. Not getting any.. =) Luke_Lorelai_ash: aww u're so cool.. U make me feel better about my story!! I'm feeling yucky about this story now cuz I feel like it's draggging on and on.. But neways, here comes the fun part! Thanks for reading to the rest of yous =) ********************* **A Couple Days Later**  
8:45 PM, Wednesday Craig's (and Lorelai's) penthouse "Okay," Craig said, handing Lorelei a pack of Bubblicious. "Go!" Lorelai called out and started to unwrap the gum. She stuffed six pieces in her mouth. "MmMMmerrrphhh.." Craig nodded and chewed rapidly. After about twenty minutes, both were rubbing their jaws. Finally, Craig spit out his humongous wad of gum into his hand. "ACK!" He yelled. "I give up!" Lorelai grinned proudly, strawberry flavored spit running down the side of her face. She spit her wad out onto a paper plate and wiped her face with a napkin. "HA! I am the bubble gum chewing leader of the world!" Craig narrowed his eyes. "I will win one day..." "I highly doubt that! I WIN!" Lorelai pumped her arms in the air and grinned at him. Craig sighed dramatically. "Fine, fine, I will bestow my title onto you." He looked at her and grinned evilly. "But watch out.. I will be back soon." He kissed her sticky cheek and got up from the sofa. "God, where am I going to throw this monstrosity out?" He looked at the slimy pink glob in his hand. Craig walked over to the desk in the corner of the room. He stuck his hand in the garbage can and pulled out a waded up piece of paper. He unfolded it. There was writing on the paper, in Lorelai's handwriting. _Dear Luke,_ _I can't stop thinking about you…_ Craig turned around to see Lorelai happily watching a episode of Sponge Bob on television. She was singing along to the theme song. He placed the letter on the desk. He saw that there was a huge pile of the same stationery inside the wastebasket. Craig pulled out another. _Dear Luke,_ _I'm sorry for hurting you……._ Frowning, he put that one on the desk and opened the next. _Dear Luke,_ _Can you forgive me? I was wrong…_ Craig bit his lip as he opened the next. _Dear Luke, I'm in love with you._ That word. Love. The one he had been waiting for her to say to him. "Hey!" Lorelai's voice broke through his thoughts. "It's a new Sponge Bob!" She squealed and pointed at the television. Craig laughed weakly. "I'm coming," He said and turned around to throw the letters back into the basket. It was all becoming so clear to him now. As he went back to the couch where she was sitting, Craig found himself watching her in the darkened room as she happily watched Spongebob. The little box was burning a hole in his pocket. ********************* 11:34 PM, Thursday  
Craig's and Lorelai's apartment Lorelai sighed and leaned her head against the headboard. Thoughts of Luke had been tormenting her for the last couple of weeks. She was starting to think it was a lost cause. He had obviously moved on, maybe it was time for her to also. After all, she had a wonderful boyfriend who loved her, a great daughter, an awesome job.. She could be happy without Luke. Right? Her thoughts were interrupted by a kiss. "Hey," Craig murmured. "Hi," Lorelai whispered, smiling as he sat down on the bed next to her. "Sorry, I'm late," He said, loosening his tie. "There was an emergency.." He groaned as he took his tie off. "Car accident, patient hit his head…" "Is he.. okay?" Lorelai asked, watching him walk over to his closet and take off his shirt. Craig threw on an old basketball tee and sweats. He walked back into the bedroom. "Yeah," He said and plopped down on the bed at her feet. "His head's okay." Smiling sleepily, he leaned his head on her knees and looked up at her. "You're beautiful." Lorelai smiled and weaved her fingers through his thick hair. "You too." She could devote herself to this man. He laughed. "Thanks.. I think." She could learn to love him. Craig kissed her fingers and then rolled over onto his side of the bed. He yawned. "Is it okay if I turn this light off?" "Yeah," Lorelai said. "Go ahead." Craig switched the light off. "G'night," he said groggily. Lorelai leaned over and kissed him on the forehead. Luke had moved on. So could she. ********************* 8:14 AM, Friday  
Port Authority Bus Station Craig stuffed his hands in his pockets and looked across the bus station. The ticket office was only ten feet away. He shifted his weight, wondering if he should do it. Should he? No, the question was, could he? _When you love someone_ He didn't know much about love. _When you love someone - you'll sacrifice _ But he knew one thing: he loved her. _You'd give it everything you got and_ And that's why he needed to do this. _you won't think twice _ That's why he was going to do this. _You'd risk it all - no matter what may come_ Painfully, Craig walked towards the ticket office, each step thundering in his ears. _When you love someone _ ********************* 4:46 PM, Friday  
Hilton Hotel Sipping yet another bad coffee, Lorelai quickly perused the papers before signing each in rapid succession. Maryanne swept the papers away and put them in envelopes to be mailed out. "Hey, Maryanne," Lorelai called out from her office. "Can you do me a favor?" "Sure," Maryanne said, walking back into Lorelai's office. "Can you call the linen people again?" Lorelai furrowed her brow. "They keep telling me that they'll have the new stuff in on Thursdays. And okay, it's Friday, and I'm not seeing any new linen." Maryanne nodded. "Yeah, we've always had that problem. I'll get on it." Lorelai gave her a grateful smile. "You're the coolest, Maryanne!" She turned to the second pile of files on her desk. 'Another exciting day of paper work,' she thought dryly. She loved her job, but the amount of paperwork was atrocious. Lorelai picked up the first file. It was the hotel's restaurant file. She tried to remember when she had last talked to the restaurant manager. Lorelai got up from her desk and walked over the huge hanging calendar. 'Today is..,' She thought, tracing her finger along the calendar. 'Oh, crap..' Her finger fell on Friday. She dashed to the phone and dialed Craig's office. "May I speak to Dr. Diodorous please?" She asked. "Yes, please hold," The secretary said. Lorelai waited impatiently as elevator music played in her ear. "Hello?" "Craig?" "Lorelai?" Lorelai giggled. "Okay, now that we've cleared that up.." Craig laughed. "Hi, Lor. Sorry but I'm gonna have to make this one a quickie." "Oooh," Lorelai said, her voice husky. "Sounds potentially dirty." Craig rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, you need to change your waiting music," Lorelai announced. "And secondly, tomorrow's your birthday!" Craig looked at the calendar that hung on the wall across from where he was standing. "Oh yeah, it is. Wow, I totally forgot." "We should do something!" "Okay," Craig said, smiling. "Let's go out to dinner.. at that nice place on 20th Street," Lorelai racked her brain for the name of the restaurant. "Gramercy Tavern?" Craig checked his watch. They were already an hour behind on office visits. "Lor, I have to go, I'm sorry." "Oh, okay," Lorelai said quickly. "I'll make reservations." "Okay, great!" Craig said. "Love you, talk to you later!" He hung up the phone to find half his nursing staff staring at him. "That's so cute!" One nurse said to him as he passed. Craig gave them an embarrassed room and retreated to the nearest examination room. ********************* 7:54 PM, Saturday  
Gramercy Tavern "Hi, may I help you?" Craig looked up to see a petite blonde smiling at him like she wanted to eat him up. A brunette stood next to her, holding menus. "Uh.. Yeah, I'm looking for …" Craig peered over the hostess to see Lorelai waving at him. The woman turned around and saw her. ".. my girlfriend," Craig finished as relief washed over him. "Thanks." The woman's face fell as she watched him go. Then she turned to the other hostess and whispered, "The good ones are always taken," She sighed and turned to face a new customer. "Hey," Craig smiled as he sat down. Lorelai beamed at him. "Happy birthday!" "Thanks," Craig said and opened a menu. "Before we order…," Lorelai started and slipped a hand under her seat. "I wanted to give you this." Craig smiled. "You didn't have to.." "It's your birthday!" Lorelai exclaimed and handed him a wrapped box. "Open it!" Smiling, Craig took the box from her. "Nice wrapping paper," He noted, raising an eyebrow. She smiled. "It _feels_ like Christmas already." "But.. Santa in boxers?" Craig asked laughing as he tore the paper. "It's enough to traumatize any first grader." "And Rory," Lorelai replied as he opened the box. "Aw, _The History of American Films_. Exactly what I wanted," He grinned. "It's the newest addition," Lorelai replied smiling. "And if you wanted to know, the Robert Redford section is new and improved." Craig smiled and set the book aside. "Thanks." "You're welcome," Lorelai replied and beamed. A waiter approached their table and they gave him their orders. "So, how's work?" Lorelai asked. She was trying, she really was. Craig was a sweet guy; he deserved so much more than her. Craig nodded. "It's good." He wondered if he should tell her. 'Should I tell him now?' She thought. "You're awfully quiet tonight," Lorelai commented. "You _are_ the birthday boy tonight.." She winked. "Huh?" Craig said. "Oh." He smiled. "I'm just thinking.." 'Thinking about how stupid I've been,' He thought looking into her twinkling blue eyes. He wondered how he had not seen it before. Her calling out to Luke in the night.. her distractedness.. the letters.. she was in love with another man. 'Lorelai, why didn't you tell me?' He looked at his girlfriend from across the table. She was now concentrating on something in her bag. Sure, they were physically only two feet apart, but inside she was probably miles away in a little town in Connecticut. He touched the little box in his pocket. They were interrupted by the waiter, who brought their entrees. "About what?" She asked spearing a white ravioli. "Huh?" Craig asked, looking up from his tuna. "What were you thinking about?" She chewed slowly. "Mm, this is good." Craig hesitated. "Lorelai.. Do you love me?" "What?" Lorelai asked, a look of surprise on her face. "Do you love me?" Craig asked nervously. "I mean, I feel like you've never outright said it to me…" "Please.. can we talk about this.. somewhere less public?" Lorelai looked around nervously. "I need to know," Craig said looking at her intently. "Look at me." Lorelai looked up at him. Her clear blue eyes were still and she said nothing. 'You love someone else,' Craig thought painfully. After Carla, he had been afraid to love. And now, as he looked into the eyes of the woman he loved so much, he remembered why all those years, all those women, he had been so afraid to fall in love again. He had been afraid of heartbreak. But now, it was too late. He had given his heart away for the second time, only to have it broken again. She looked at him nervously. 'I have to tell him,' Lorelai told herself. 'I have to tell him.' She opened her mouth to speak. Then he started to laugh. He was laughing at his own blindness. Craig chuckled, thinking how pathetic he must seem.. She was startled by his sudden outburst. He pulled the box out of his pocket. "I was going to give you this tonight." Craig placed the square velvet box in the middle of the table. Her eyes widened. "I.. uh," Lorelai said nervously. "But I realize now," Craig interrupted. He pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. "That this would be the more appropriate present." "I'm not the birthday boy," Lorelai said, desperately attempting to make a joke. "No, you're not a boy either," Craig said, trying to smile. He looked into her eyes and smiled gently. "Open it." Her shaking hand reached across the table and took the envelope. She opened it. "Star's Hollow?" She asked, confused. Lorelai looked up at him. "A bus ticket to Star's Hollow?" Craig spoke softly. "You love Luke, don't you?" Lorelai's eyes started to tear. "Craig, I…" "Lorelai," Craig said, reaching across the table to brush away her tears with his thumb. "You know I love you. But I can't keep you here. Love goes both ways, right? And we both know that you love someone else." He was giving her the only push she needed. Lorelai smiled at him through her tears. "Thank you." "You're welcome," Craig replied, trying to be cheerful. "The bus leaves in an hour. We should probably go." He motioned for a waiter. "Check please." ********************* 8:55 PM, Saturday  
Bus Station "You ready?" Craig asked. Lorelai nodded and put her bag down on the sidewalk next to the bus. She had thrown a couple of things into her bag but she would have to come back to later for the rest of her stuff. Lorelai reached for his hand. "Thanks," She said and kissed him on the cheek. "And I know this sounds clichéd, but any girl would be lucky to have you." Craig just smiled sadly, thinking of the irony. 'Any girl..?' "We can still be friends, right?" She hugged him and then pulled away to look at him. "I.. I don't know if I could," He replied, his face expression hidden in the shadows. "It hurts me to be here right now, knowing that I'm telling you to go." He laughed weakly. "Telling the woman I love to go." Lorelai started to cry again. "Stop telling me you love me." "But I do," Craig said and pulled her towards him. He wrapped his long arms around her waist and hugged her. "I do." Lorelai hugged him back, but he realized it was a friendly hug, not the kind of longing hug he gave her. "Well," Craig finally said, pulling away. "You should go." Lorelai nodded and sniffled. "I should." "Tell Luke I said hi." "I will." Craig watched her walk up the bus steps and to the back of the bus. She sat down and looked out the window at him. He waved and tried to smile. He knew that if he broke down, she would come running back. Craig knew she didn't want to hurt him, that she would sacrifice her own love for him. And that was one of the many reasons he loved her so much. She was willing to sacrifice. So was he. She waved back. He stood staring at her, a sad smile on his face. The bus driver climbed onto the bus and turned on the engine. Lorelai turned to window and waved again. He found himself waving back as the bus started to pull away. It was soon out of his view. "Goodbye," Craig said gloomily to no one in particular. He took a deep breath and rubbed his right temple. "I remember why I never commit," He said out loud, thinking about Lorelai. "Happy Birthday to me." Shaking his head, he left the bus terminal. ********************* Sigh.. I feel bad for poor Craig…. -Ggirl The lyrics are from "When You Love Someone" Bryan Adams when Craig is thinkinga bout buying the bus ticket. 


	19. Maybe

Wow, wow, wow.. I came online this morning and I was like OMG, OMG.. You guys! Awww your response was so overwhelming!! ((Sniffle)) you make me so happy.. But now I'm just hoping i will make you happy... ********************* 11:03 PM, Saturday   
Star's Hollow Lorelai stepped off the bus and back into Star's Hollow: town to the crazies, the gossips, friends,…. and Luke. Struggling to be courageous, Lorelai walked towards the darkened diner. The lights were dimmed, but she could see a dark figure at the counter. 'Luke,' She thought, smiling and feeling a little flustered. She continued to walk to the diner, her steps even and steady. 'Be brave,' She thought to herself. 'Don't screw this up.' Lorelai soon found herself standing at the door, watching Luke, who had his back to the door. _I'm scared.  
I'm afraid to tell him what I feel.   
What about Linda?  
Maybe he's in love.   
I'd feel like a fool.   
I wouldn't know what to do.  
It would ruin everything.  
What if this ruins even a potential friendship?  
Should I risk that?  
But I can't let the chance to love him pass me by.  
Should I tell him?_ Her stomach was doing somersaults. Lorelai put her hand on the doorknob, willing herself to go inside. ********************* 11:05 PM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner He had known that letting go would be hard, but now, it seemed near impossible. Linda had broken up with him, leaving him with his thoughts of Lorelai. That was understandable. He felt really bad about the whole situation with Linda. After all, he hadn't really had any interest in her.. he had just been interested in forgetting about Lorelai. _And look how far I've gotten with that..._ The more he willed himself to forget about her, the more often she crawled into his thoughts. This was insanity. She was gone, and he was a fool. That morning he had decided to sell coffee again. The sign was gone, to everyone's relief. After all, change hadn't done any good. But then, he found himself pouring a whole bag of sugar into the coffee maker. He had been distracted by his thoughts and mistook the bag of sugar for the coffee beans. It took him almost an hour to clean all the sugar out. Standing with his back to the door, Luke tried to distract himself by wiping clean the menus. He could smell her scent in the air. 'I'm losing it.' He thought and shook his head. Luke heard the bell on the door jingle and wondered who would be coming to the diner this late in Star's Hollow. "We're closed," He called over his shoulder. "Luke." He could hear her voice. 'Wow, I must really be out of it,' He thought, shaking his head. "Luke?" Luke slowly turned around. "Lorelai?" Lorelai stood there, like an apparition. "Hi." Smiling shyly, she gave him a little wave. Luke jerked to life, realizing that she was really there. "Hi." She looked uncomfortable and she wringed her hands. "Um, I came to tell you something." "Oh." He was having a sense of déjà vu. She had said that before… that night. "I.. Uh..," Lorelai started. "I'm.. not that good at this." "Okay." Luke looked at her, a questioning look on his face. She fell silent under his gaze. Lorelai looked around the diner, almost as if she had never been there before. "Place looks nice." "Thanks." Luke started scrubbing the counter. She sighed, rather loudly. He wasn't making it easier for her. "I realized," Lorelai started. "When I was in New York..." Luke nodded, but kept scrubbing. _What is she was doing here?_ She was torturing him, bringing to life memories that he desperately wanted to forget. He was tantalized by her scent. _Her perfume.. Making my fingertips twitch. Making me want to touch her face. Graze the outline of her face. Kiss her nose.Kiss those soft, pouty lips.Wrap her in my arms and never let her go._ Luke tried to hold his breath. _You can't do that._ She was silent again. Luke watched her intently, the nervousness that lined her face. Her dark hair fell gently upon the shoulders that he longed to touch. _Forget about Lorelai, she's not in love with you_ Why had she come here? Usually, when she was nervous, Lorelai would ramble on and on about some random topic. But today.. today, she didn't know what to say. She said the first thing that came to her mind. "I realized that... I'm in love with you." His eyes widened. "What?" He croaked. The dishrag in his hand fell to the ground. "I..," Lorelai said, taking a deep breath. "I love you." She had said it; the three words that she had been holding in for so months. Luke stood there, shocked by what he had just heard. Lorelai stood uncomfortably, wondering if he was going to say anything. Why didn't he say anything? Luke gaped at her. Lorelai bit her lip nervously. Was it that outrageous? Would it never work out between the two of them? True, they were different.. but opposites attract... Lorelai wished that he would say something, anything.. at least she would know if he thought it was possible between them.. or impossible. _He's not going to say anything_ Lorelai thought painfully and turned away from him. "I… uh," Lorelai cleared her throat and spoke up. "I have to go." And she was gone again, leaving a trace of her perfume and the faint jingle of the bell on the door. Luke stood there silently, his mouth still wide open and his eyes watching as her back as she ran. The woman he loved and had so desperately tried to forget had just told him that she loved him back. It was only after the door closed shut that Luke could speak. "I love you, too," he whispered hoarsely into the air. Realizing that he had to tell _her_, and not just the empty diner, he ran out of the diner after her. ********************* 11:19 PM, Saturday  
Gilmore House Gasping for breath, Luke nearly collapsed on her porch. The house was dark. Using the energy he had left, he pounded on the door. "Lorelai!" No answer. "Lorelai!" He called out. Babette poked her head out of her house. "Luke, hon, Lorelai's gone, remember?" "Yeah, thanks, Babette," Luke mumbled. The woman probably thought he was insane. Luke closed his eyes and slumped against the cold door. ********************* 11:23 PM, Saturday  
Star's Hollow Bus Station Huffing, Luke ran into the bus station. "Hey!" He yelled at the alarmed clerk at the ticket booth. "Hey! Are there any buses to New York?" The man looked at his clipboard. "Actually, one just left." "Damnit," Luke said, slamming his fist down on the counter. The man raised an eyebrow. "Sorry," Luke mumbled and timidly pat the victimized counter. ********************* 11:24 PM, Saturday  
On the Bus "Sookie," Lorelai sobbed into her cell phone. "He didn't say anything." "I'm sorry, hon," Sookie said soothingly. "How could he _not_ say anything?" Lorelai sniffled. "Uh, miss, are you okay?" The man across the aisle asked. "Yeah," Lorelai sobbed. "I'm fine, thanks." He nodded and returned to his magazine. "Sookie, I'm sitting on a bus back to the New York and I'm crying like a baby." Lorelai dug around in her purse for a tissue. "And I have no tissues." "I'm sorry," Sookie said sympathetically, and silently cursed Luke's taciturn nature. "You're going back to New York?" "He didn't say anything," Lorelai reiterated. "I know but maybe he was just too surprised," Sookie said. "I mean, this is Luke. He has trouble forming complete sentences… you should give him time to talk." Lorelai blew her nose on a Dunkin Donuts napkin. "Bu how can someone just stand there, if the person that he or she supposedly loves back tells him or her that she or he loves him or her?" "What?" Lorelai sighed, wiping some stray tears from her cheek. "I dunno, but he could have at least grunted or waved a flag or poured me a cup of coffee…." Sookie smiled at the thought. "I have to go back to New York because I have work on Monday anyways." "Work?" Sookie asked. "Yeah, I'm still working at the Hilton, remember?" Lorelai replied and sighed. "And I have to move my stuff out of Craig's." Sookie sighed at the thought of Lorelai having to confront her now ex-boyfriend. "And you're right," Lorelai said. "He wasn't wearing flannel. Although, he seems to be serving coffee again. I could smell it in the air." Sookie tried to smile. "Lor, you have somewhere to stay for tonight?" "Hon, I work in a hotel." "Oh, right." Sookie was relieved. At least Lorelai wouldn't be walking around alone, disoriented and sad in the city late at night. "Sookie?" "Yeah?" "Don't tell him where I am, okay? Promise? I mean, if he comes and asks you.. If he doesn't then…," Lorelai said, rubbing her left temple. "I just need time to think..," "Yeah, sure," Sookie replied. "Feel better, okay?" "Okay." Lorelai leaned her head back on the seat and closed her eyes. "Bye, Sookie." "Bye, sweets," Sookie replied sadly. Lorelai hung up the phone and threw it into her bag. Her eyes closed, she fell into a deep sleep, her mind replaying the scene in the diner over and over. ********************* 11:32 PM, Saturday  
Luke's Diner Luke sat at one of the tables, his head in his hands. He didn't know what to do, who to call... he didn't know where she was.. what are her phone number was.. his head suddenly jerked up. He had Craig's addresss. Maybe she would go back there... Luke ran up to his apartment and started to dig around in one of his kitchen drawers. He found his address book, grabbed his car keys, and ran out of the diner. ********************* 1:43 AM, Sunday  
Hilton Hotel Lorelai walked into the Hilton and up to the front desk. She set her bag down at her feet and looked at the man sitting at the desk. "Ms. Gilmore," the clerk said, surprised to see his boss at that time of the night. "Hey, Danny," Lorelai said, giving the young man a slight smile. "Are there any rooms open?" "Uh, yes, ma'am," Danny said, typing furiously on the computer. "Room 415." "Thanks," Lorelai said gratefully, taking the key. "Just charge it my account, okay?" "Yes, ma'am," Danny replied, nodding. "G'night." "Good night." Lorelai said and smiled before walking towards the elevators. ********************* 1:47 AM, Sunday  
Craig's (and formerly Lorelai's) Apartment After parking his car, Luke cautiously approached the apartment building. The doorman looked at him with a questioning look on his face. "Can I help you, sir?" "Uh..," Luke stuttered. "I'm here to see Ms. Gilmore in apartment 4B." "I'm afraid she's not home, sir," The doorman answered promptly. "Oh." Luke's face fell. "But it's almost 2 in the morning.." The doorman shrugged. "I don't know, sir, but you're the man visiting at 2 in the morning." Luke sighed and nodded. "Good point," Luke answered. "Good night." The doorman just nodded. Luke walked back to his truck and got in. Where was she? ********************* 3:15 AM, Sunday  
Craig's (and formerly Lorelai's) Apartment Jane fumbled for the key underneath the doormat. She had just come in from Egypt and she was dead tired. Shifting the weight of her bag on her shoulder, Jane twisted the key into the lock and opened the door. "Craig?" She exclaimed, alarmed by the sight of her brother passed out on the ground. She threw her bag down and shook him. "Craig? Are you okay?" Craig cracked open an eye to look up at his sister and grinned a silly smile. "I just drank a little…" Sighing, Jane dragged him into the living room with difficulty and even managed to pull him onto the couch. Huffing, she took off his shoes. 'Ugh, he's way too heavy,' Jane thought, frowning, and hurled the shoes at the front door. "You know," He said, looking at her as she took off his jacket. He still had a goofy smile plastered on his face. "It's my birthday…" "I know," Jane said, smiling slightly. "Is that why you and Lorelai had a party?" She looked around the room. "Where is she anyways?" She hoped Lorelai wasn't passed out somewhere else in the apartment. A miserable look passed through Craig's face. "She left," He croaked, his head hanging limply over the side of the couch. "She loves someone else.." With that, he closed his eyes. Jane sighed sadly and pat his head sympathetically. "I'm so sorry," She whispered gently, now understanding why he was in such a drunken state. "You'll find someone else better, Craig…" Craig opened his red-rimmed eyes and looked up at her pointedly. "No, I won't." ********************* And so the story continues.. Hehe Hm.. **Jewls13**, I was thinking about what you were saying.. Which is totally valid.. But then I was like, wait, here are two people who know each other so well, and both have finally learned that the other loves him/her back.. Would they work on their friendship first? I think they would both jump on the chance of love again, esp. with each other, you know? So now Luke is running around like a headless chicken looking for Lorelai.. Hopefully I'll be able to work it out so they'll .. at least be friends.. (don't wanna give the ending away.. teehehehe).. but you are right, friendship is one of the most important things in life. **laJardiniere**: Alias!!! Ahhhh Vaughn.. Teehehee **Moswen**.. haha, you are good.. You always guess what I'm gonna do. Like with Jane, you guessed that she was his sister.. Hehe and **Javajunkieangel** is a good guesser too!! Hehe Ooohkay scaring myself now.. ** diosa alexia**: Aww, your poor guy friend.. Good luck to him! I hope everything works out for him.. **Kris Wright**: lol I did look up weezer lyrics and I found a good song for the next chapter =) **Allison**: OMG that is my favorite favorite show! "Unwrapped", right? And they show you how they make all the candy! That is the greatest show!!!! Oo icic my friend is so obsessed with Everwood.. It heard it's like all gushy but still really good… **Miss pebbles**: Hehe yeah I really wanted Craig to come out as the good guy… **mass coffee**: hahaha I did try to sing it.. With strange results =) **starbelly**: haha I'm so glad you like it! **Dawnmeister**: Perhaps you would like to comfort Craig in his drunken state? Haha should I write you in in the next chapter as the woman he meets or something? Hahah that would be fun if I showed up in the story too! Wheee .. Or I won't do that.. ;) Also, thanks to **SD, the4thlor, kyle, Zarianature, luke_Lorelai_ash, gluglug, becs, etc, etc**.. just everyone for their continued support and for reading my story! I appreciate it sooo much! Oh, and HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! 


	20. Second Donuts, Second Chances

Ahhh I know this took a while.. I finished writing this chapter. Then I went back to read it the next morning and decided I hated it. So I changed it. And then I changed it again… So here's the result of my hair-pulling.. ******************** 6:15 AM, Sunday  
Sookie's House Nervously, Luke rang the bell. He felt uncomfortable about waking her up so early in the morning, but he needed to see Lorelai. Rubbing her eyes, Sookie opened the door. "Luke?" "Sookie," Luke started. "She doesn't want to talk to you, Luke," Sookie interrupted him, glaring at the man who had broken her friend's heart. "Please," Luke said, exasperated. "I need to see her! I've been up all night.. And you're my only hope here, Sookie.." "No." "Please," Luke begged. "Sookie, please, I'm begging you.. I made a mistake last night.." Sookie shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Luke. She made me promise.." Sookie wringed her hands. Luke sighed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and slowly stepped off her porch. "Thanks," He muttered over his shoulder and started across the lawn. He dreaded going back into the city without knowing where Lorelai was. She could be anywhere. But he had to find her and tell her how he really felt. Sookie bit her lip as she watched him leave. "Luke.." He turned around, a hopeful look on his face. "Yeah?" "She's gonna kill me for telling you this..," Sookie said, furrowing her brow. She hoped that she was doing the right thing. "But.. she's at the Hilton.. on 5th Avenue.." Luke gave her a grateful look. "Thanks so much, Sookie. I owe you one," He said, backing up towards his truck. ********************* 

_All by myself   
Don't wanna be, all by myself anymore  
All by myself  
Don't wanna live, all by myself anymore Hard to be sure  
Sometimes I feel so insecure  
And love so distant and obscure  
Remains the cure_

********************* 8:34 AM, Sunday  
Hilton Hotel Lorelai sighed as she shuffled back towards the empty office after downing a cup of coffee and eating a donut at the café down the street. She felt lonely this morning; she and Craig had broken up.. and her and Luke.. Blah. She didn't want to think about it. Lorelai sighed again. `Should have gotten that second donut,' She thought dryly. She had tried to distract herself with television in her hotel room, but she found that she was only torturing herself about Luke. So she had come down to the office extra early to do some paperwork. Then she had gone to the café for some breakfast. Waving at Maryanne, Lorelai breezed past her desk and pushed through the heavy mahogany door to her office. After she hung up her coat and threw her bag on loveseat, Lorelai heard the office door open behind her. She twisted around. "Luke?" She croaked. He had a unreadable look on his face. Lorelai cleared her throat. "What are you doing here?" Feigning nonchalance, Lorelai turned her face away and arranged some folders on her desk. "I came to.. uh.. see you." Luke stuffed his hands in his pocket. "Oh?" She looked at him. "Funny, yesterday, when I came to see you.. it seemed that you didn't want to see me." "Lorelai," He started. "About that…" "You know, Luke," Lorelai interrupted him and turned around to face him. "Running a hotel takes a lot of work. I'm kind of busy right now…" She turned her back to him again. "Maybe we could talk later." "Oh." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his face fall. 'Oh, Luke,' she thought mournfully, hiding her own despondent face with her long hair. 'Why didn't you say anything? Why did you hurt me like this?' Brushing the thoughts out of her head, Lorelai walked over the file cabinet and put the files away. "I.. um.. I should go." "You should." Her voice was muffled as she bent over the open drawer. When she looked up again, he was gone. Lorelai fell against the file cabinet, her head leaning against the cold metal surface. She closed her eyes and slid down the side of the cabinet. Tears. ********************* 8:37 AM, Sunday  
Hilton Hotel Shoulders slumped, Luke walked out of the hotel. The cold winter wind bit his cheek, painfully scratching his dry skin. 'Well, obviously she's mad at me,' He thought. It was expected, after what had happened last night. She had opened up to him and he had simply gaped at her. He hadn't talked. He closed his eyes. Why hadn't he said anything? Because he was stupid. Why hadn't he told her years ago when he had first realized that he loved her? Because he was a coward. The answers were all there. "Hey, don't just stand there, man." Luke opened his eyes to see a man impatiently waiting for him to move out of the way so he could push the large cart down the sidewalk. "Sorry," Luke muttered and moved aside. Shaking his head, the man pushed the cart past him. She didn't want to talk to him. That was a first. Usually, she was jabbering away at 400 mph, leaving him dazed. Today, she had brushed him aside, telling him that she didn't want to see him. But wasn't that what he had done to her yesterday? Yesterday when her blue-eyed stare gave him a little tingling sensation inside. Her eyes watching him; her pouty lips parting to tell him that she loved him. She loved him. He loved her. "Hey! Are you just gonna stand there?" The doorman said, eyeing him. What _was_ he doing just standing there? Luke looked at the man. "No." He wouldn't give her up without a fight. "No, I'm not just going to stand here." And he walked past the confused doorman into the hotel. ********************* 8:39 AM, Sunday  
Hilton Hotel "Lorelai?" Next to the counter, Lorelai opened her eyes at the sound. That voice again. Luke walked into the office, which was seemingly empty. He poked his head out the door. "Are you sure she's here?" He asked the lady at the desk.Maryanne nodded. "She didn't leave after you did." "Okay, thanks," Luke replied. He closed the door and turned around. "Lorelai?" She had appeared out of nowhere. Her face was tear-streaked. "Lorelai…," Luke said, surprised at the sight of her watery state. "I thought I told you to leave," She said bluntly. A look of hurt passed through his face. Lorelai ignored it. "I have work." "Look here," He said gruffly and a little too loudly. Lorelai was surprised by his suddenly aggressive tone. Luke took a step towards her. "I'm not the type of guy who hates much.." Lorelai watched him intently. He was by her side in just four long steps. "But I hate how you barged into my life and turned everything upside down…" He continued and grabbed her wrists in his hands. "Oh, really?" Lorelai said sarcastically. "Maybe you should go then." She removed her hands from his. Before she could turn away, he grabbed her hands again. "And I hate how I can't stop thinking about you.." She watched his stormy eyes. "And I _tried_, Lorelai.. I tried so hard. And you know what? I couldn't." There was that look again. His face precariously hovered above hers. Lorelai sucked in a breath. "And I especially hate how I can't tell you that I love you because I'm a coward and an idiot.. And I hate being a coward." Lorelai choked up, and tears started to fall down her face. "And an idiot?" She asked, tears streaming down her face. His face softened and he even managed a slight grunt-smile. Luke leaned his forehead against hers and their eyes met. "I'm so sorry, Lorelai," He whispered, breathing in her scent. "I'm so sorry." Lorelai felt more tears forming in her eyes. "Oh, Luke." Crying, Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck. "Luke.." He roughly pulled her lips towards his. Lorelai felt like she was exploding with happiness; Luke loved her. His lips were a little chapped from the cold, and the calluses on his thumbs gently rubbed against her neck. Luke brushed his lips against her soft, warm ones, knowing that this time, they both wanted it. Lorelai pulled away to look at him. "Luke.." Luke put a finger to her lips and pulled her in for another kiss. He tasted her salty tears. "Lorelai," He whispered. "Why are you crying?" He held her tightly, feeling her body shuddering against his. Lorelai leaned her head on his shoulder. "Because," She cried into his neck. "This is what I wanted for Christmas. I asked the Salvation Army Santa.. And I thought he forgot and.." Luke interrupted her with another kiss. ".. and because I'm so happy…" She whispered, their lips gently touching. ********************* 9:25 AM, Sunday  
Hilton Hotel "How'd you find me?" Lorelai asked him, looking up at him. "Well," Luke said, adjusting his cap. "It was hard. Sookie wouldn't tell me where you were.." Lorelai laughed. "Good ol' Sookie." She beamed at Luke, sighing happily. "But.. She eventually gave in and told me where you were," Luke finished and smiled at her. "Aww, good Sookie," Lorelai replied and giggled. Luke smiled at her. "Should I go? I mean you have to work right?" He started to get up from the (appropriately named) loveseat. Lorelai pulled him back down and walked over to the door to lock it. She looked at him slyly. "I think I could sacrifice a couple minutes." ********************* **Months Later  
July  
** 7:34 AM, Monday  
5th Avenue Walking towards the car garage, Craig swiveled around to see a familiar face passing him by. "Lorelai?" The woman swung around. "Craig…" "You're still here," Craig said, surprised. "Yeah, I'm still at the Hilton until my contract ends in August.." Lorelai trailed off. "How are you?" "Pretty good," he lied. "That's good," She replied, smiling gently. "So, uh," Craig muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "I should get going." He forced a smile. "Me too," Lorelai said. He started to walk away. "Craig?" "Yeah?" "I'm so sorry," Lorelai said. "For what?" He tried to smile. "For.. everything." Lorelai looked so sad, and he just wanted to wrap her in his arms and comfort her. But that wasn't his job anymore. "You don't have to be sorry," Craig said and sighed. "See you." "Bye, Craig," Lorelai said, silently wishing him happiness as he walked away. ********************* _Any time that you want  
I'll be here in your arms  
Slently holding on  
To the girl whom he charms  
But if there comes a day  
You should turn your heart away  
I'll be down on my knees  
Beggin' for that girl to stay Don't let go  
Ooo oh oh  
Don't let go   
Ooo oh oh_ ********************* 7:39 AM, Monday  
5th Avenue Lorelai turned the corner and walked into the hotel. "Luke?" He smiled at her and handed her a thermos. "Hi." "OOo," Smiling broadly, she took the thermos from him. "What are you doing here?" "Came to visit you," Luke said and wrapped his arms around her waist. Because her contract ended in August, Lorelai still lived in the city. She had found a nice little apartment and came up to see him most weekends. "Really?" Lorelai said, returning the smile he gave her. "But you hate the city." Luke nodded. "I do. But the city has something I do like." "Oh?" Lorelai said, giving him a wide-eyed look. "The Star Trek convention?" Luke rolled his eyes and blushed. "I thought we weren't going to talk about that anymore." Lorelai smiled evilly. "I don't know, Luke, after seeing your Star Trek collection…" He broke her off with a kiss. "Okay, subject dropped," she breathed, pulling away from him. He always took her breath away when they kissed. "I have to work.." She made a face. Luke just smiled and held her hand as they walked towards her office. ********************* "All by myself" - Jamie O'Neal "Don't let go" - Weezer Java, java!!!.. Unfortunately, I couldn't really think of a good way to make Craig happy.. And I didn't want him to jump into a serious relationship rite away.. So, this is the last chapter but I do have the **epilogue** coming up.. It's almost done, it should be up in like one or two days.. THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING!!! =) -Ggirl 


	21. Epilogue

**JavaJunkieAngel**: I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for reading! **Jewls13**: Yeah, life is stinky in those ways.. thanks for reading! **Masscoffee**: hahha (bounce, bounce, bounce) haha i like that.. that's funny **Luke-Lorelai-ash**: thanks!! =) I'm so glad you enjoyed the story. **Diosa Alexia**: LOL **Moswen**: Yeah, Luke is a bit of a coward.. blah.. the first time I wrote this chapter, I did it like he just walked in and was like "I LOVE YOU LORELAI!" (I think it was cuz I just watched the scene in "It's a Wonderful Life" when Donna Reed comes back from college and Jimmy Stewart and she are talking on the phone to that guy in New York.. and then suddenly Jimmy grabs her arms and starts yelling and then they kiss.. and that is like the most wonderful movie ever!!) So i was like all inspired by that.. But Luke's not Jimmy Stewart.. he's luke and we love him! **starbelly**: Lol, yes we love Luke! **Dawnmeister**: lol the epilogue in your head... I love happy endings...hehe thanks for reading! ********************* **December**  
"It's snowing!!!" Luke looked up from the counter. "Oh." He looked back down at his papers. "Oh?" She scoffed. "That's all you can say?" "Oh, it's snowing," He said smugly. "Blah! You're no fun," She pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "It's the first snow of the year! And you know what that means!" "First snow-shoveling of the year?" "Gah!" Lorelai shook her head. "First _snow walk_ of the year!" She reached across the counter. "Come on…" Luke sighed. "Lorelai, I have to organize these…" She pulled him from behind the counter. "Hey!" He protested as they left the diner. "I need my jacket…" "Stay here," Lorelai instructed sternly and ran into the diner. Moments later, she ran out with his jacket. "Okay, let's go." Luke took the jacket and gave her a perplexed look. "So what do we do now?" He had never been on a 'snow walk' before. "Walk!" Smiling, Lorelai grabbed his hand and pulled him across the street. "And try to eat some snow." She tilted her head back. "You know, you shouldn't do that," He warned. "These days, due to pollution, the snow contain a lot of acid rain and toxins…" "Oh, blah," Lorelai replied and rolled her eyes. "Coffee's probably kill me first anyways." Luke felt a smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. At least she admitted it. He stood there, watching her with her head tilted back and her arms open wide. She turned around in circles and sighed happily. "Isn't this the prettiest sight ever?" She asked him, her face glowing. "Yeah," He replied, his eyes still on her. "It is." He cleared his throat. "Can I ask you a question?" "Okay," She replied, her eyes still tilted to the sky. "I.. um.. kinda always wondered…," Luke said and then cleared his throat. "Craig was like the perfect match for you," Luke said, looking at her trying to catch snowflakes in her mouth. "Why me? Why did you fall in love with me?" She stopped trying to catch the lively flakes in her mouth and looked at him adoring. "Because," Lorelai answered. She paused. "I needed someone like you." Luke smiled one of his rare grins. "Good answer," Luke said. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder as their walked. "And.. cause you make great coffee," Lorelai said, smiling slyly. Luke just rolled his eyes. ********************* **About a year later, October** "Lorelai, you owe me," Luke growled into her ear as they walked by giggling bystanders. "That's real pretty, Luke!" Someone yelled out. Luke just narrowed his eyes and eyed the loud-mouth bystander, remembering his face so he could bust it later. "I mean it, Lorelai." "I heard his pirouettes are unrivaled!" yelled another voice. Luke's eyes narrowed further. "Maybe Miss Patty could use you in her dance classes!" "Aww, Lukey," Lorelai stifled a laugh. "I think you look sexy," She whispered into his ear. He looked at her, his eyes gleaming and a sly smile on his face. "I think _you_ look sexy…" He eyed her. Lorelai feigned a look of surprise. "Why, Mr. Danes, that is highly inappropriate language to use in front of minors on this glorious holiday. Have the townies seen the seductive side of the flannel-clad supposedly quiet coffee-serving diner man?" "No," Luke grunted. "But now, thanks to you, they've seen _way_ too much." Lorelai giggled and glanced at him in all his glamour. She, on the other hand, was wearing something a little more normal: black leggings, a tight black shirt with a pink donut on it, and a polka dotted pink bandana. She was a donut. And Luke was her Jolly Green Giant. He didn't understand the logic of their costumes at all, but apparently it made a lot of sense to Lorelai and Rory. And _only_ to Lorelai and Rory. The two had been giggling for hours after coming up with the idea. Luke had just shrugged and agreed to the idea, not knowing that their evil plan would involve his wearing green tights. Luke groaned again and looked down at himself. Luke was wearing green tights and a green flannel shirt with a belt around his waist. He looked ridiculous. Smirking, Jess walked by the couple with his arm around Rory. "Don't say a word," Luke warned him. Jess put up his hands in surrender and smiled. "I think the costume speaks for itself," Jess replied, hiding a smile. "Come on, Scarlet." Rory just giggled and walked away with Rhett (aka Jess). Luke threw his arms in the air. "Lorelai," He said turning to her. "Why couldn't we be a normal couple like…" He looked around the square. Okay, so no one was really a _normal_ couple.. He pointed at his nephew and her daughter. "The tumultuous vixen, who at the end of the greatest epic of all time, besides _Clueless_ of course, returns to her damned house, Tara, letting her foxy lover walk away from her life?" Lorelai asked, raising a brow. "That's not normal.. Plus I never liked that silly mustache on Clark Gable's face." She put her hands on her hips. "Although, I must admit I like the idea of being a tumultuous vixen." She looked deep in thought (or at least, as deep in thought as donuts can be). Luke shrugged in defeat. "Anything but the tights…" Smiling, Lorelai put her arms around his waist. "But don't you like it just a little?" "No." Luke sighed. "I like it." A sly smile spread across her face. Luke rolled his eyes. "I don't even know how this makes sense..," Luke replied frowning. "I know…," Lorelai said, her face nearing his. She kissed him. "But, I do know _this_ makes sense…" She put her arms around his waist. Luke smiled, tights and all. "Nice costume, Luke," Taylor said approvingly as he passed. Luke's eyes narrowed. "Calm down, Luke," Lorelai whispered. "I think he was actually complimenting you." She cocked her head. "Actually, that's rather scary." Luke nodded and watched as the cardigan-clad grocer walked across the green to the gazebo. "Attention, everyone!" He boomed into the microphone. The noise level increased. "PEOPLE!" People started to walk away from the gazebo. "OKAY, IF YOU DON'T LISTEN UP, I'M GONNA PUT KIRK ON THE STAND HERE!" Grumbling, the crowd ventured back towards the gazebo. "HEY!" Kirk yelled. "THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Lorelai giggled as Kirk raised his fists at Taylor. "My money's on Taylor," Luke whispered. "Mine's on Kirk," Lorelai whispered back as they watched the two argue. Finally, Taylor ushered Kirk off the gazebo and grabbed the microphone. "Damn that Kirk," Lorelai grumbled as Luke put out his hand for his money. "Welcome to Star's Hollow's annual Halloween Fest! As you can see, the food has been set up on tables down the street. And the treating has been arranged down there…" "Treating?" "Taylor decided that 'trick-or-treating' had a bad implication, so he changed it," Lorelai explained. "I _think_ that cardigan holds a bad implication.. Who knows what sort of sexy body he holds under that wool fashion statement?" Luke closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. "I just pictured that, and it wasn't pretty," He grumbled. Lorelai made a face. "Yeah, I have an active imagination that must be curved. I just pictured that and it wasn't pretty either." "I should go tend to the trick-or-treating crowd." She nodded. "I think I'll stay around here for a while." Lorelai considered the possibilities. "Oh, no," she said, shaking her head. "You are _not_ changing back." He rolled his eyes. "I won't." "Sure?" "Yes." "Okay," She said hesitantly and watched him leave. ********************* **Half an hour later** "Have you guys gone trick-or-treating? Did you happen to see Luke?" Lorelai furrowed her brow and looked around. She wondered if he had changed back. He better not have. Rory looked up from her book and shrugged. Jess looked up from his book and shrugged. "Blah," Lorelai said as the pair turned back to their tomes. "I guess I should go check up on him at the house. See you guys later." As she approached the house, she saw a group of little witches and goblins walk up to the porch and ring the doorbell. She stopped behind one of the trees and watched from across the street. Luke opened the door. "TRICK OR TREAT!" They yelled, their voices ringing in the cold October air. "Here you go," Luke grumbled and distributed the candy. The little kids tittered excitedly and started to walk down the porch steps. Just as he was about to close the door, one of the goblins yelled, "Nice tights, mister!" Lorelai said Luke's face turn red. She giggled. Maybe she should relieve him of such embarrassment. Sighing, she walked across the street. 'Hm, this is a chance to get candy,' She thought as she walked up the porch steps. Ever since they started dating, he had tried to get her to eat better. She, on the other hand, tried to eat worse any chance she could get. Lorelai rang the doorbell. Luke opened the door and she smiled. "TRICK OR TREAT!" She yelled. A smile tugged at the edge of his smile. "You're just trying to get free candy." "Hey, diner man, I _bought_ that candy," Lorelai explained, wagging a finger. "And I hid it, so you wouldn't eat all of it before Halloween," Luke replied, crossing his arms. "I know, I was upset," Lorelai said, frowning. Luke sighed. "Okay, fine, I'll give you candy." He disappeared into the house and came back with the basket. Lorelai opened her Halloween-motif bag as wide as it would open. "Put it in here, Lucas," She called out. He rolled his eyes and smiled slyly. Reaching into the basket, Luke picked out something and closed it in his fist. Then he dropped it in her bag. "Happy Halloween." Lorelai watched the ring fall into her bag. "Luke…" She looked up at him. "I need more candy than this." Before she could protest further, Luke put the basket aside and fell on one knee. "Lorelai.. Will you marry me?" A look of surprise fell across her face. As realization set in, Lorelai started to cry. Tearing, Lorelai got down next to him. "Yes.. I will!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Luke smiled broadly and kissed her slowly. She pulled away from him to dig the ring out of her bag of candy. He took it from her and put it on her finger. Lorelai looked at the ring. "I'm getting married..," she breathed, looking back and forth between her ring and Luke. "Me.. married..." Luke smiled, amused with her facial expression, and kissed her again. "Looks good," He said, nodding and glancing at the strawberry flavored RingPop on her finger. "Best ring ever," Lorelai nodded and licked the 'diamond'. Luke laughed and took something out of his flannel shirt pocket. "Does that mean you don't want this?" He opened up the little black velvet box and showed her a sparkling diamond ring. "Oh..," Lorelai breathed and looked up at him. She kissed him again with her strawberry flavored lips. "I love you," She said as he put the ring on her other ring finger. He hugged her. "Me too." She lifted her head from his shoulder. "Does this one have a flavor too?" ********************* **Two Years Later, December Luke's Diner** "Lukey!" Luke looked up with a half-smirk as Lorelai walked into the empty diner. "Hi." Lorelai smiled and walked behind the counter to hug. Just as he was about to wrap his arms around her, she walked away from him towards the coffee pot. "MMmm, smells good." Luke rolled his eyes. "You want some coffee?" "You're offering? Why, Lucas, you have never _offered_ before..," She gave him a surprised look. He rolled his eyes and reached over to pour a cup. She shook her head. "Nah, I'm okay." Luke looked at her with questioning eyes. "Did you just say no? Lorelai Danes, did you just say no to coffee?" "Mmm," She murmured ignoring his question. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "Luke smells good too." Luke wrapped his arms around her. "Hey it's snowing again!" She suddenly called out, pointing out the window. Luke lifted his head to look outside. Lorelai looked up at him. "This is perfect," She whispered and gently stood on her tiptoes to kiss him. "You are perfect," He whispered and kissed the top of her head, breathing in the faint apple scent. She looked up at him, with shining eyes. "You're not too bad yourself, Mr. Danes," She said smiling. She shrugged off her jacket and he kissed her lightly on the collarbone. She twisted her head around and breathed into his ear, "Not here." "Why not?" He murmured. "Because Patty is waving at me," Lorelai said and giggled. She raised a hand to wave at Patty. Luke groaned. "Damn townspeople," He muttered and pulled away from her. "Actually, I came in here to tell you to bring cake home tonight," Lorelai said as she adjusted her shirt. She momentarily leaned on one of the stools and watched as he rearranged the menus behind the counter. "Three pieces." "Three?" Luke asked raising an eyebrow. "I thought we were going to work on eating better." Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Just bring three, please? Just this once." Luke grumbled but muttered an "Okay." Lorelai grinned and leaned across the counter to kiss him before grabbing her jacket and prancing out the door. "Come home a little early okay?" Luke nodded and smiled as he watched his wife walk towards home. ********************* **Gilmore House, a couple hours later** Lorelai looked around the living room and smiled proudly at what she had accomplished in the last three hours. She thought the decorations looked great. The banner, the crepe paper, the balloons.. 'All done in fabulous Bobby Trendy style,' she thought giggling. "Lorelai?" Luke called out as he entered the house. He hung his jacket on the hook near the door and walked into the living room. "Whoa." He looked around, his mouth open at the disgustingly large amount of decorations. "Uh..," He said, giving Lorelai a questioning look. "Is it that coffeemaker's birthday again?" She just smiled and gave him a silly hat to wear. "No, silly! James Folger's birthday is in June anyways. Something better." He looked at her with questioning eyes as she took the take-out box from him. "What is it?" He asked her. She just smiled and set the three slices of cake out. "Lorelai?" Lorelai took three candles out of her pocket and placed one in each slice. Then she lit each one, blowing on her fingers to extinguish the match. "Okay!" She said, giggling at his perplexed look. "Whose birthday is it?" She didn't answer his question and just gave him a slice. He sat there dumbly, as she just smiled and took his hat off his head. She put it on her own head and danced around doing a silly dance. "Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" Luke was still confused, and questioning Lorelai's sanity. "Uh…" She stopped dancing. "Blow out the candle." "It's not my birthday." "I know," She replied. "Blow it out." Luke plaintively blew the candle out, still watching her. Lorelai had a serious expression on her face. "I'm pregnant." "What?!" He looked at her, wide-eyed. "Really?" "Yes." And with that, she jumped into his lap. "I'm pregnant!" Laughing, Luke kissed her. "Happy birthday to little Lucas or little Lorelai!" She exclaimed happily and kissed him on the nose. Luke sat still, smiling broadly. "I'm gonna be a father?" "Actually, no, Kirk is the father," Lorelai said, a serious look on her face. "Human Kirk, that is, not to be confused with Cat Kirk." He made a face. "God, don't say that." Luke grimaced at the thought of Lorelai and Kirk together. "I'm sure we can work some sort of joint custody." Lorelai giggled and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck. "You could have little Kirky on Monday and Kirk could have him on Tuesday…." Luke cut her off with a kiss. "Or, we could just kidnap the kid and keep him all the time," Luke said. "Sounds good to me." Lorelai pulled away and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm so happy, Luke." "Me too," Luke said and lifted the bottom of her shirt to kiss her bare stomach. "Me too." ********************* 

_I finally found someone,   
who knocks me off my feet.  
I finally found the one,  
who makes me feel complete... It started over coffee…  
we started out as friends…  
It's funny how from simple things,  
the best things begin... This time is different;  
It's all because of you!  
It's better than it's ever been,  
Cause we can talk it through. My favorite line was   
"Can I call you sometime?"  
It's all you had to say...  
To take my breath away... This is it!   
Oh, I finally found someone,  
Someone to share my life,  
I finally found the one   
to be with every night.  
Cause whatever I do  
It's just got to be you!  
My life has just begun,  
I finally found someone...  
Did I keep you waiting?  
I didn't mind  
I apologize  
Baby, that's fine  
I would wait forever  
Just to know you were mine; You Know I love your hair...  
Are you sure it looks right?  
I love what you wear...  
Isn't it too tight?  
You're exceptional!  
I can't wait for the rest of my life...  
This is it...  
I finally found someone;   
Someone to share my life,  
I finally found the one;   
to be with every night... Cause whatever I do  
It's just got to be you  
My life has just begun,  
I finally found someone... And whatever I do  
It's just got to be you,  
My life has just begun...  
I finally found someone…_

***********************THE END***********************

Thanks so much for reading!!! I hope you guys had much fun as i did writing it... I tried to think of a way to put Craig back in teh story.. but I couldn't.. because I doubt that he would come back to visit Luke (or Lorelai) in Star's Hollow.. SO let's just pretend that Craig met a wonderful lady who loved him and they lived happily ever after, having lots and lots of little Greek babies (in the tradition of My Big Fat Greek Wedding of course)! So this is the end, I want to thank you again for reading and reviewing.. I haven't thought of any new ideas at this point. Most likely, I'm going to continue my story "What If", which is (of course) yet another javajunkie! I also look forward to reading your stories.. most of which I have read (cuz I'm one of those people who go hunt down all the JJs and read them all...) JAVAJUNKIES ARE THE BEST! =) -Ggirl P.S. "I finally Found Someone" - Barbara Streisand & Bryan Adams (this is an awesome song! One of my favorite love songs, and it's not becuase of the whole L/L implications in it either..) Thanks again! =) 


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